Volume 3: The World is Changing
by Nafa-tali
Summary: Weeks after she was injected with DNA extracted from a Mew, Kair finds herself exhibiting strange symptoms. And as her relationship with her father's enemy- Lance intensifies, she wonders how long she can keep it hidden from the leader of Team Rocket.
1. The World is Changing

**Author's Note: **Thanks for taking the time to find me here!

Volume 3 takes place a few weeks to a month after Kair was injected with the Mew DNA…

Enjoy!

* * *

**Volume 3:- The World is Changing**

**Some time ago:**

_Morning smiled down upon peaceful Viridian Forest, bringing much welcome sunlight to the treetops that never seemed able to filter it down to the forest floor. _

_It was in these treetops that Pidgey and Rattata liked to spend their morning, warming their bodies in the sunlight before starting a busy day of forage, play and avoiding the occasional Pokémon trainer. _

_This morning, there was a strange presence in the forest however… _

_Entei bolted through the underbrush, feet pounding, chest heaving. It raced at top speed, barely comprehending the trees that came rushing up at such a speed. _

_Something was after it, a mechanical monster created by the hands of Humans- an abomination to this world. WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP! It tore through the forest behind it, shredding trees and shrubs alike as though they were nothing more than paper. _

_A small family of Pichu and Pikachu were just emerging from their little home in the safe confides of a tree. Pichu played about, romping around in dead forest foliage as their older brothers and sisters- the Pikachu, kept a careful lookout for predators. _

_Pikachu's ear gave a twitch, suddenly sensing that not all was right about this morning. The blur rushed past him so quickly that he barely got the chance to blink; it was a Pokémon he had never seen before. _

"_Pika?" _

_WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP. The sound was getting closer… like a giant, mechanical heartbeat. The ground started to shake beneath his feet. _

"_Pikachu!" he sounded out a warning alarm to his brothers and sisters. Something was on the approach and it was coming in fast. _

_All at once, the little ones followed by their older siblings made a dash for the safety of home, all but one tiny little Pichu who was notorious for wandering off on its own._

"_Pikachu!" Pikachu called, hurrying to meet with his little brother and pushed him along with him. He stuffed the little Pichu into the hole in the tree._

_The monster tore through the forest so suddenly that it caught Pikachu off guard. With huge, gnashing teeth and a snarl engulfed in toxic fumes, it took no note of the creatures that fled, sweeping up everything in its path. The Chu family was safe however, as it merely brushed by their tree. Leaving all but one little Pikachu behind..._

"_Can one of you halfwits explain why my latest mechanical marvel failed to do its job?" Giovanni was a force to be reckoned with this morning as he burst into the laboratory, sending every one of his scientists scurrying for hiding. _

_Only one was brave enough to stand up to him. "It took our best efforts to find Entei, sir. But unfortunately, our best efforts were not enough to capture it."_

"_Incompetent fools! Do you have any idea how much money I've put into this project! This chance may not fall into our laps so easily again!"_

_So far, things looked promising: heads weren't rolling yet meaning they possibly wouldn't. The scientist took a chance and exhaled. Giovanni himself knew it would be a long shot, there was a reason why a Pokémon such as Entei hadn't ever been caught yet. _

"_We'll catch him next time Sir, I promise," he lied. _

_Giovanni's eyes scanned the lab, as if to search it for any signs of slack. What they fell on was a little cage containing a Pikachu spraying sparks of electricity all over the benches. _

"_He got caught up in the mech__anics, Sir," the scientist noticing his Boss's gaze filled in. "I can only assume he got separated from his family. He's scared out of his wits."_

"_Dispose of it."_

"_Yes sir," t__he scientist nodded, flicking a finger and signaling to his assistant to carry out the order. He had to go through the specs of the machine and attempt to coax Giovanni into handing over more funds to have it refined. _

_What no one expected was the moment the assistant lifted the little Pikachu from its cage it sent a thundershock right through him, completely stripping him of his lab coat. Then wriggling from his grips, it leapt down from his arms and bolted for the door. _

_Another scientist took a dive in attempt to block the little Pokémon's exit but suffered the same fate. _

_What the Pikachu failed to realize however, was that the door was not wide open as it had expected, in fact it was very much closed and made of glass. Bomp! It hit the door with such force that it knocked itself senseless. _

_Giovanni allowed an amused chuckle to escape his lips even in spite of the fact that he'd just watched the little rodent turn his lab upside down in a matter of minutes. _

"_Strong little Pikachu," he mused. "That's an impressive thundershock."_

_The head scientist scraped the dazed Pikachu off the floor, angrily handing it to one of his colleges. "Get rid of it, now."_

"_Wait," Giovanni's abrupt order stopped him in his tracks. "This little Pikachu would make the perfect starter for the boy." Finding a Pokéball in his jacket he tossed it to the scientist, making no effort in explaining who this 'boy' in question was. "Micro-chip it and take it down to Pallet Town. Deliver it to my sectary. She'll know what to do from there." _

* * *

**Present day:**

The Viridian City Museum was a hive of activity. This night a special one- greatly anticipated by its curator. Tonight, the city's elite class of business men and women flocked to the Museum in celebration of the unveiling of its latest exhibit, namely a handful of very valuable and rare DNA rich Pokémon fossils- also a good reason for one prominent member of the Pokémon G-Men to be present.

I scanned the crowds of overly dressed aristocrats but so far my search had turned up fruitless. He wasn't here yet, but certain he was on his way.

I shifted on my feet, almost staggering in the thin heels that stuck out from the bottom of my shoes. I felt so exposed; like a clown putting on a show for the crowds as I watched the eyes of single nobles and married gentlemen alike take note of my scantily clad presence. I was new meat on the market.

My hair was tied up in a fancy bun and the black, backless dress I wore left little to the imagination and gave an impression of me that I greatly disagreed with. But this was all a part of the plan. This was my first assignment in weeks… I couldn't screw this up.

"Stop touching your neck, its still there." I didn't want to admit he'd startled me as Giovanni came up from behind, handing me a glass of champagne.

I put my hand down, swallowing with visible discomfort. The diamond necklace felt so heavy on my neck, heavy and worth enough to feed an entire starving village for a year no doubt. I'm told it originally belonged to my mother.

We seemed to be waiting for something as Giovanni watched the front entrance where there, a well known and respected Pokémon Professor had just arrived. To his side was a sweet looking woman whom I immediately recognized to be my father's personal sectary. She wore an elegant, rose coloured dress that went well with her light complexion. Gentle eyes smiled at us from across the room, though while in the presence of Oak, she feigned ignorance. And I could only wonder how in the world could someone so seemingly innocent wind up involved in an organisation such as Team Rocket.

Professor Oak was the special guest of the evening, having made a huge contribution to the research behind the Pokémon fossils that still lay hidden in the next room. So the moment he entered the hall, he found himself swept up by fellow experts in the field and businessmen alike.

My father's sectary subtly detached herself from the gaggle and slowly made her way over to us, greeting Giovanni with an official nod and a respectful bow of the head.

"So this is your daughter?" she asked though it was obvious what the answer was.

I nodded nevertheless, giving her a pleasant smile.

"It's nice to meet you," she offered a hand to shake.

Giovanni didn't have the patience for small chatter, not when we had a job to do. "We have company."

He signalled me across the room to the figure standing cautiously at the bar. He must have snuck in when I wasn't looking and was watching us already. Fortunately though, the Dragon Master's fame got the better of him and he soon found himself recognized and cornered by Pokémon League fanatics.

"Make sure everything is in place, I want this plan going down without a hitch, do you hear me?" My father's order snapped me from my stare. "Don't let me down."

And with that he slunk off through the crowds.

I made my way through the party, keeping close to the wall- careful so as not to draw attention to myself. Wide French doors opened out to a sparsely populated balcony overlooking the Museum's botanical gardens. Stopping at the rail, I pretended to catch some of the evening's fresh air while I searched the darkened gardens for the figure I knew should have been there.

The only indication of this I saw was the brief flash of a yellow light coming from behind a cluster of native bushes, but it was enough to tell me the agent was in place and awaiting the next phase of the plan.

I sensed his quiet approach from behind but chose to ignore him until he stood close enough behind me that I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

"So what's your father got you doing this evening, Kair?" Lance questioned me with a playful whisper.

I kept my back to him, continuing to look out over the gardens and sipped my champagne. "What makes you think we have anything in mind at all, Lance?"

I felt the light touch of his fingers as they toyed with the end of my necklace that hung down the back of my neck. Fingers that soon moved on to more interesting things; tracing the path of my bare skin down to the small of my back and immediately bringing back a wash of thoughts of the times we'd spent together.

"You're not going to even let me in on a hint?" his breath on my ear made me tingle.

Before I knew it, I'd tilted my head and he dared to risk it all as I felt his gentle kiss on the side of my neck.

I forged a cool smile, desperate not to let it show that the longer we stood there, the quicker I was losing control of myself to him.

"You best get your hands off her, Lance," a dangerous hiss broke us apart and we spun to face my father stepping from the shadows.

"Giovanni," Lance nodded, giving him a bow that hardly showed him any respect before slinking off under the watchful gaze of the crime lord.

My father waited until he was sure we were alone before approaching, giving me the chance I needed to quickly pull my head back into the game.

"He is trouble, are we compromised?"

"No," I replied, calmly. "He has no clue."

"Then come on, we're ready for phase two."

I followed him back into the party, my eyes quickly scanning the room for Lance who had since made himself scarce. I spotted security guards standing around, having emerged on the scene as the unveiling came closer. Speeches started, giving a detailed explanation into the history of what was about to be uncovered for the world to see. The shroud came down and the crowds politely gasped at the two chunks of rock that lay before them in glass cabinets.

"The city forked out how much money to pay for this junk?" I mused which was silently ignored by my listener, he was more intent on concentrating on the Mayor who was quickly making a beeline toward us.

"Ah, Giovanni!" the large balding man greeted him with a hefty handshake. "I'm glad you could make it to our little gathering."

My father extended a smile, switching to business man mode. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Can I introduce you to my daughter, Aisha?"

Attention focused on me and I played my part, offering a quiet greeting.

"Lovely, she is. You best not let her out of your sight, Giovanni."

Our laughter was short and superficial. We had a job to do. Pleasantries aside, the Mayor glimpsed this way and that, pulling a yellow envelope from his jacket and handing it to Giovanni. His voice quickly fell to a low whisper. "Security shift change over is at twelve midnight. You've got a five minute window. Are you sure you can do this?"

"You just worry about keeping the party going. I'll worry about making sure my people get the job done."

Giovanni slipped me the envelope, excusing me from the conversation.

That was my signal… time to put phase two into action. But first, I needed to get one Dragon Master off my tail. I glimpsed him from across the hall, standing quietly at the bar. His intense gaze was devoted entirely to the envelope in my hand.

I needed to create a scene. He watched me offer him a cheeky grin, one that told him he was going to have to work hard for his pay this evening. I gripped the champagne glass in my hand, making sure it was full to the brim. Then bringing it up, I pretended to toast the Dragon Master before letting it slip from my fingers.

_Smash_!

It was like I'd just sounded the alarm or something as from nowhere attendants came rushing at me with towels and questions of my wellbeing. People stopped and watched the commotion. Glass scattered across the floor, and guests were abruptly ushered away from the disaster zone as the crew got to work at cleaning it up. I found myself swept away into a gaggle of people that now completely obstructed Lance's view of me.

By the time the disaster zone was clear… I was gone…


	2. Hitman

**Hitman**

I hurried on through the underbrush, staggering in high heels that I soon decided to ditch in the pond. One of my father's agents met me under a hanging willow tree, eager to help me get out of this wretched dress and into something more suited for the operation.

"Can you read me?" he attached a wire to me to which I nodded.

It took no less than three minutes and I was ready. I called my Charizard and we took off into the night.

The skies were clear this evening, which only made me worried, because that meant it was hard to miss the flame on my Charizard's tail. I thought of Lance's words from only weeks before, that Charizards have difficulty seeing in the dark and I wondered how long it would be before he caught up. Not that it mattered anyway… yes I was doing something illegal…. But it was entirely out of his jurisdiction anyway.

My coordinates came into view, namely a large, modern style office building in the centre of downtown. Checking my time, I signalled Charizard down to the roof and landed.

This roof, much to my disappointment didn't have an access point, which meant I was going to have to devise another way of breaking in. A fire escape was my next option, which, luckily, was in good working order. I scaled two floors before pulling the envelope and checked its contents. My instructions were clear, I was to break into the office, third to the left of the elevator on the seventh floor. Fortunately for me, each floor displayed large numbers next to the elevator.

Pressing my face up against the window, I found my calculations were correct and made preparation for entry.

"Are you in yet?" the Giovanni sounded through the bug in my ear.

"Almost."

"You're behind schedule. You need to-" I switched off the communicator. The last thing I needed was voices in my head when I was trying to concentrate.

Feeling about the window, I located the latch that kept it shut. Then pulling a pocket knife, I carefully jimmied it into the tiny space between the latch and the window.

_Click_!

It popped open with ease, allowing me to quietly slide the window open and clamber through.

Inside, I could clearly hear voices coming from the bottom of a large and extravagant staircase that spiralled the entire height of the building. Right on time, as per the Mayor's guidance, the security shift was changing over.

I headed in the opposite direction, keeping to the shadows and avoiding contact with the several security cameras that searched the halls for disturbance. I came across the office I was looking for, the words 'Rowan and Co. Lawyers' glinting in gold-plated letters and broke in.

As was to be expected of a lawyer's office, it served more as a show piece than anything. Framed credentials and awards lined the walls, a bookcase stood crammed with expensive looking law books and a desk chair that screamed fake Taurus hide. I knew what a Taurus hide chair looked like and I knew how expensive and difficult they actually were to acquire. My father owned several.

But it was the filing cabinet I was after, and it was locked.

"Shit," I cursed. This was wasting my time!

Sticking my torch in my mouth, I fumbled for my lock picking set and went about breaking into it. It was harder than I'd anticipated and only ended up taking up more valuable time.

I checked my envelope of instructions again and located the file I was looking for. It bore the Mayor's name on it and the nasty contents of bribe letters that kept his pocket full. He'd been caught red handed dabbling in too many activities associated with organised crime. Of course, Team Rocket was on the top of his list.

I could only imagine the price Giovanni placed for sending someone to clean up his mess for him. Grabbing the letters, I stuffed them into my pocket before replacing these with fake documents compliments of the Mayor's envelope. I really didn't know what they said, nor was I interested. I didn't get paid enough to be curious about these things.

I closed the cabinet, ensuring it locked properly before making my way out. My job here was done.

* * *

Trouble didn't rear its ugly head until I was back on the roof. I flicked my communicator back on, making contact with my father. "The switch has been made."

"Excellent. Now get yourself back to base."

I saw a Fearow swooping over my head and wondered what something like that was doing out at night.

"Do you want the letters?" I asked him, but the only reply I got was the sound of static. The stupid communicator had gone dead.

I ripped it off my ear and stuffed it into my pocket, going to grab my Charizard's Pokéball from my belt when WHOMP! It was like a black phantom leapt down from nowhere and dropped on me, tackling me back into the roof.

A masked man was on top of me, eyes wide and an even wider leer spread right across his slimy, masked face. I hoisted a leg, kicking him in the gut and quickly rolled out from beneath him. We staggered to our feet, facing each other in the moonlight and that was when I saw the red R upon on his chest. It was the agent from the museum gardens!

Noticing my genuinely bewildered stare, he pulled a knife from his trousers, snarling at me. "What's the matter, girly? Daddy not here to help you?"

I had nothing to offer.

"I suppose you have no idea who I am do you?"

"You've got that right."

"Of course," he gave me a sick chortle from the back of his throat. "No one knows who I am now. But back in the day I was one of your Father's leading men. So prominent was I that I was destined to take Team Rocket… that was until you reappeared on the scene. You came back and I become obsolete! Everything that I worked for, gone! So you can imagine how infuriated that makes me!"

"Enough to kill me for I'm assuming."

"You don't know the half of it, little girl. After I'm done with you, I plan on taking those letters and exposing Daddy's entire operation. Team Rocket will be mine!"

The guy was clearly delusional. I would have walked away too if it wasn't for the fact that he threatened me with a knife.

"Well are you going to kill me already? Or do you want to stand around and talk about it some more?"

That was a response he wasn't expecting. He shifted on his feet, realising that I wasn't taking his threat seriously enough.

"Little Bitch!"

All of a sudden he made a dash at me, which I evaded quickly, spinning and kicking the knife from his hands. Another kick got him in the face and he staggered backwards, bringing back blood from his lip.

"Feisty!" he leered.

I went him again, this time going in with the intention of breaking his nose but in a single motion he blocked me suddenly, grabbed my foot and sent me spinning into the cement of the rooftop. "What you fail to realise little Aisha, is that I've received training in very much the same fashion."

Now I had reason to be worried.

I staggered to my feet, this time waiting for his charge before defending myself with a twist and a backhand kick.

"Oof!" he yowled, taking a few steps backwards. Then he did something unexpected and keeled, crouching up into a ball. I didn't even see him pull the second knife from his boot until it was too late. In a flash, he threw it with deadly accuracy and impaling me in the shoulder.

"Arrhhh!" I hit the ground hard, my eyes seeing stars, mind numbing agony searing through my joint.

I sensed his movement as he got to his feet and sided up to me.

"Arhhhh!" I couldn't hold back the yell as he knelt down and carelessly plucked the knife from my shoulder.

"Stings doesn't it," he grinned at me.

I wanted to get up, to defend myself but my head… the pressure was so intense! It was like something trying to break out of my skull, even numbing the pain in my shoulder.

My senses were changing, my eyesight blurring… like the drag of the mouse on a slow computer.

He knelt down and grabbed me by the hair, forcing me into a stagger. But my limbs were so slow… I could only let him half pull half drag me over to the ledge, hanging my face over it into the black unknown.

"Oh dear!" his sneer was one of victory. "It seems little miss boss mistook her step and went for a tumble, don't you think?"

THUMP… THUMPTHUMP! THUMP…THUMPTHUMP.

The force in my head… I couldn't take it anymore! I needed to let it out!

All of a sudden I was falling… twisting and spiralling, the ground rushing up to meet me… But what happened on the path between the rooftop to the ground, still today eludes me…

All I recall was a sudden blinding brightness, like a Pokémon had just used its flash attack on me. And for a moment everything vanished…

When I came back around I was on the ground, dazed but still very much alive.

A startled Fearow was swooping over my head, bringing down its master on its back. He too watched me, the surprise evident on his face that he'd just witnessed something impossible.

"How the hell did you just do that?"

I was still in a daze, not knowing which way was up… but the pressure in my head was gone.

"Oh let me guess, you have a little Abra friend with you." He seemed to come to a conclusion which, at that moment made utterly no sense.

"Let's see you try and teleport from this!"

The knife flashed, but this time it was so slow… I watched it leaving his fingertips, flinging towards my face, its movement sending bubble-like shockwaves through the air. Energy that I could see… and manipulate. It was like invisible hands that left my body and I willed that knife to slow down, and then to stop.

The loud clink of the knife landing on concrete snapped me from my daze and suddenly the world was normal again. I was sitting on the ground, staring up at him, watching the dark shadow that approached him from behind.

BAM! BAM!

I instinctively ducked, hearing the clink of bullet cases bounce off the pavement. The Rocket whirled on his feet, hitting the ground where he stood, only to face up to the man with the gun… the man in the suit.

"I thought I would find you snivelling around here. This whole conspiracy had your name written all over it."

The Rocket traitor hissed something at his old boss, spitting at his feet. Without a second thought, the bullet went straight through his head and his lifeless corpse slumped on the ground at my father's feet.

"You're fired," Giovanni gave a smirk, putting the gun away. He produced a black, glossy card imprinted with a red R and tossed it onto the corpse.

"Are you alright?" He now focused his attention on me and extended a hand, helping me to my feet.

I rubbed my head, still feeling dizzy and confused by the entire experience.

"Yeah," I said with more conviction than I felt.

"You're injured," he spotted the blood on my shoulder and I remembered the knife wound.

I pulled away my shirt, exposing my shoulder and the fact that the wound was now gone…


	3. Manifestations

**Manifestations**

"What did you wind up doing this evening?" Lance stepped in from my balcony, heaving a loud yawn.

My apartment was a small, modern one room suit - pretty standard for Team Rocket agents who spent most of their time in the field. The entire building, which sat just across the street from the Viridian City Pokémon gym, was owned by Team Rocket.

Stepping in from the bathroom, I ran a towel through my soggy hair before throwing it aside on a chair and slumping heavily onto the bed.

"Laundry," I heaved a sigh and flopped back onto my pillow, my head nothing but a raging torrent of confused thoughts.

"Laundry huh?" Lance kicked off his boots and joined me on the bed. Lying on his side and leaning on his elbow. "Your first mission on the field didn't quite go according to plan, huh?"

I heaved a chuckle. "Oh it went perfectly. Just a stupid cleanup operation. It was just the getaway that had a few hiccups." I explained to Lance my story… well what of it I could piece together.

By this point, he'd made himself comfortable on a pillow and rested on his back with his hands behind his head.

"It sounds like you might have had some sort of invisible Pokémon helper. Perhaps not so much an Abra but one of its evolutions would have sufficed."

"But I didn't see one. Besides, what would a random Abra evolution be doing out at night rescuing damsels in distress?"

Unfortunately, Lance was not able to shed any light on the situation. His hand came up and touched my shoulder where the blade had gone through.

"There's not even a scar," he commented, running his thumb over the sport. "I can understand the Teleporting and Telekinesis attacks, but as far as I am aware, Recover shouldn't have worked on you."

"Not unless it had some sort of strong synchronise ability," I contemplated.

To which Lance replied with a shrug. "When it comes to psychic Pokémon, anything is possible."

I heaved another sigh, rubbing my temples, attempting not to think too much into it. I was alive, that's all that mattered.

"What I'm concerned about is the fact that you're not a quivering mess after watching your father kill one of his own agents in cold blood," Lance piped.

But I really had nothing to offer him. "Does it surprise you that he is capable of that sort of thing?"

He had no choice but to acknowledge my point. As far as Lance was concerned anyway, it was one less Team Rocket scum off the streets.

"You need to be careful Lance. I won't always be able to cover for you. I'm more than sure he probably suspects."

Lance seemed unconcerned, and it made me wonder if it was more the thrill of being with the daughter of someone so dangerous that brought him back here than anything to do with me.

I glimpsed the clock on my bedside table which told me it was almost sunup anyway, no point in going to bed now. Lance's eyes were already drooping as he fell into a light slumber. As far as he was concerned, his mission had been a success – he and his men were able make sure no one disrupted the fossils at the museum while they were being showcased. Now, a state of the art security system was being installed that would make it near impossible for anyone to break into, and the ancient Pokémon could rest in peace.

The thought of Pokémon remains caused my mind to trail on other things associated with the events of the past few weeks. After I'd taken on the serum to which Giovanni's scientists could confirm had been pure Mew DNA, I'd been sent to the labs for extensive investigation. Much to their disappointment however, the Pokémon G-Men organisation had made sure not to leave a trace of the stuff in my bloodstream - that would have otherwise killed me anyway.

I'd suffered minimal cell damage and no visible mutation had occurred. After observation, I'd been given a clean bill of health and sent back into the field. Though, I couldn't help but wonder how much of it I had actually absorbed into my system, perhaps enough to give me these headaches?

"Great," I snorted to no-one but myself. "I'm turning into a Psyduck." Little did I know at the time, how close to the truth I actually was.

* * *

The gym was empty at this time of the morning, with the exception of the occasional night shift worker eagerly awaiting the end of his workday. The sun was only just making its appearance on the horizon as I stepped in though the large, double doors.

This generally wasn't an entrance meant for employees but it saved me from having to trudge all the way around the back to get in.

My father was already there when I entered, sitting in his usual spot that overlooked the fighting arena.

"You're early," he commented. He finished the remainder of his coffee before getting to his feet and making his way down to the floor.

His suit and tie this morning were replaced with nothing more than white training trousers and a black-belt. Contrary to what many may believe, sitting around barking out orders at agents was only one of his favourite pastimes. His other was fighting, this evident in his motto that to have strong Pokémon, you yourself must also be strong.

Interestingly, no one ever questioned his strength... but who would when your boss has this uncanny ability to destroy things by merely crushing them in his inhumanely huge hands.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, stepping up to meet me in the pokéball painted on the centre court.

In spite of how I felt that morning, I nodded and allowed him to pull a blindfold over my eyes.

"You got sloppy last night. You should have easily defeated my ex-admin."

"I would have," I fought. "But my head…"

"Be quiet. You have no excuses. In this organisation, you either fight or you die. I won't always be there to save you, Aisha."

I shut my mouth, taking his berating in silence. I had more important things to worry about, like concentrating.

"I expect you've completed your stretching exercises already?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Excellent. I want to focus on your agility this morning. This ought to counteract your lack of attentiveness."

Briefly the thought of his Pokémon crossed my mind. Was this how he trained them too? Probably.

He ordered me into place and we began my exercises, just as Sa'lu, my previous instructor, had performed with me those years ago. Single-mindedly I listened to his instructions, leaping, flipping and weaving. My only guides were his eyes and his voice.

I started to perform a series of backward summersaults, flipping one after another until he told me to stop, and there I found myself unexpectedly landing in a piled heap.

"What was that?" his enraged outroar echoed throughout the gym, as if to be insulted at my lack of concentration.

But once my heart was pumping, it was hard to fight the pressure in my head. It was coming on with such force…

I felt his form standing over me suddenly and he ripped off the blindfold.

"Get up!"

I meekly staggered to my feet, blinking away the dots in front of my eyes.

"Get into fighting position."

I did just so, meeting him in the centre court again. Defence was the only thing I could concentrate on, and as had happened the night before with the agent, I started out well but soon my headache seemed to get the better of me and he overwhelmed me.

"Oof!" I keeled as his fist went into my gut and I tumbled backwards head over heels.

The air gone from my lungs, I heaved, struggling to breathe. He stood over me, berating me, forcing me back to my feet. I dragged myself upwards, getting into position again, urging my mind to just concentrate… this would all be over soon!

He ran toward me and I ducked, weaving out of the way of his high kick and somehow managing to get in a series of attacks of my own. Then spinning on one foot, I came around with a striking force with the other. But in a blink of an eye he caught it, twisting my leg and sending me spiralling for the ground. I hit the floor hard on my stomach, my face barely missing being smashed into the court. I wheezed, the energy gone from within me.

If I was a Pokémon, I'd have been declared unable to battle by now… but still he pushed me. Ordering me back on my feet. I staggered upright, resting my hands on my knees, desperate to catch the breath that didn't seem to want to trail into my lungs.

That was when it happened…

He came at me with the force of a storm behind him. There was little else I could do but to cast a protective arm up over my face, when all at once the air around me changed. I felt the force behind it, a blast of wind that erupted suddenly between us, picking us up and throwing us both into opposite walls of the gym.

We both hit the ground simultaneously, dizzy and confused. What had just happened? I'd just witnessed my father flying! I couldn't move… my body was completely sapped of any energy. I watched him picking himself up off the floor and strode on over, on his face a look of amazement before that was soon replaced with a hearty laugh.

My world was still spinning.

He stood over me for a minute, watching me before helping me to my feet. My headache was gone now… and I could clearly see the toggles ticking away in his head.

"It seems, Aisha," his smirk remained on his face. "That you may be experiencing some minor repercussions of the DNA serum."

* * *

"Its truly incredible, your vitals are off the chart!"

I eyed the scientist off carefully, watching him scribble down his notes on the clipboard in his hands.

"You're manifesting Pokémon powers. It's… unbelievable!"

He was clearly elated - much to my frustration. The examination room, while only being one small part of the underground maze that made up my father's labs, was cold and lit only with bleary lighting.

"I need to perform a few more tests, but from what I can tell, your powers are only exhibiting during a heightened state of agitation - whether that be through exercise or through fighting."

"How is this even possible?" I questioned. "I don't understand."

"It has something to do with the Mew DNA, doesn't it?" My father who stood watchfully over me mused.

And the scientist nodded, his eyes aflame with enthusiasm. "Yes. Which means it proves the stories true."

"Stories?" I asked.

"Stories that Mew is the catalyst of all Pokémon powers. Within its tiny body, Mew carries the DNA of all Pokémon sorts, fire, water, poison, psychic. It is this catalyst that scientists are keen to harvest. When you were injected with that DNA, it is possible that the ability that you had the strongest affiliation with somehow attached itself to your cells and merged, meaning that when the PGM flushed your system, that particular type stayed with you only to manifest like this in the form of a defence mechanism." He chuckled, "like a low level wild Pokémon I suppose you could say."

I didn't like the idea of being compared with a low levelled Pokémon. "And which ability would that be exactly?"

The scientist shrugged, "I'm not sure, only time will tell. I can only assume that since it hasn't killed you by now, you may be able to develop it. Perhaps with training?"

His inquiring glance fell back on Giovanni who was already thinking the same thing. His eyes were hungry… he was up to something. But at the expense of my freedom?

I frowned, "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in this lab."

The scientist chuckled, "While I would love have you here for more testing, that will be entirely up to your father."

Two sets of eyes fell on Giovanni, who still seemed caught up on the point about 'training'. He watched me carefully, as if to see something in me that he could use. "You say she is otherwise in perfect health?" he questioned the scientist.

"Oh yes," the scientist confirmed. "She is still in peak condition. If anything, I'd say this little experiment has only made her stronger."

"Perfect," that was what he wanted to hear. "Then keeping her here won't be necessary. For the moment, I need her in the field. We've got the Pokémon tournament festivities this weekend."


	4. The Pokemon Festival

**The Pokémon Festival **

The morning was abuzz, Viridian City's main square a hive of activity. Blue sky and a pleasant breeze greeted the crowds of Pokémon trainers, performers and spectators alike as they piled into the festivities. Music filled up the airwaves and the vibrant colours of balloons and streamers was enough to make even the lowliest of hearts soar. It was all very poetic…

I slowly made my way through the pushing and pressing crowds, attempting not to let the closeness of so many people get on my nerves. I was never a fan of large crowds… they tended to make me feel exposed. The mixed smells of candy and hotdogs merged to form the putrid aroma of a carnival, making my stomach churn. Fire breathers and street performers lined the roadways in attempt to capture people's imagination… and their spare change.

The festival was an annual one, and incidentally the first of its kind that I'd attended.

Its location changed cities through Kanto across the years, this year it was Viridian's turn to host it. It honoured the Pokémon games and was the official signal that the Indigo League Championships were only a matter of months away now… time for serious trainers to get cracking.

Gym leaders from all fractions of the region converged on these parts, acting as judges and officials of the games that would take place across the weekend.

My father, of course, was one such official. His face being in the public for the entire event, it was vital that we did our jobs well… because he would see everything.

The main flow of the crowd was heading in the direction of the battle grounds where there a makeshift stadium and judging panel had been built - though movement seemed hampered by the occasional trainer battle taking place on the sidelines.

The grand opening announcements took place as the Mayor went into introducing the special guests and thanking people who had put their time and effort into the makings of the festivities. I heard my father's name mentioned and spied him sitting at his spot in the judging panel, his Persian to his side.

Winners of individual matches were granted with certain badges compliments of the gyms spread out across Kanto, the grand champion receiving the full set of badges, and therefore automatically giving them entry into the Indo League Championships – a prize that was, of course, greatly sought after.

I felt a shadow standing over me before the thick, gloved hand came down on my shoulder, spinning me on my feet. I found myself face to torso with a grey open vest with a large, red letter R on its front.

"Hey, where's your bug Rookie?" the brown haired superior glared down at me.

Pushing his hand from my shoulder, I signalled to the tiny earpiece that had found its way into my pocket. To be honest, they irritated me to no end, especially when I found myself stuck with listening to lewd conversations about what certain male Rockets want to do to the pretty girls that passed them by.

"Tyson, I know what I'm supposed to be doing," I stated bluntly before continuing my steady pace.

But he wasn't done with me as he grabbed my shoulder again, rougher this time and yanked me into a backwards stagger. "Hey! I'm a higher ranking than you! You do what I tell you do to do, or ill have your ass handed over to the boss on a silver platter!"

'_Yes, because it__'s not like I don't already have enough to do with the boss._' I thought but chose to bite my tongue. Instead I forged a leer and put the earpiece back in my ear. "Touch me like that again and I'll throw you across the street."

I left him to contemplate those words and wandered off into the crowds, confident that I wouldn't be disturbed again for a little while.

I was wrong.

The hand touched my shoulder, lightly this time. I didn't even stop to consider it; I simply grabbed it and wrenched it forward, forcing the body into my back before I flung it over my shoulders and onto the street in front of me.

The dark teenager wheezed. The air having been knocked out of his lungs, he could only stare up at me, the look on his face wide with shock. "It seems," he panted, "that I've fallen head over heels for you."

My expression was less than impressed and the heel of my boot lightly found its way to his jugular. "Say that again?"

The boy swallowed, his gentle croon soon turning to one of panic. "On second thought, maybe I was wrong."

Rolling out from under my boot, he quickly staggered to his feet just as two of his young friends arrived on the scene – an orange haired girl I recognized as being one of the sisters who owned the Cerulean gym and a dark haired boy with a Pikachu carefully perched on his shoulder.

The Cerulean sister was telling her friend – _Brock_ - off while the other kid watched on, a puzzled expression on his face that looked as though had become a common trait of his. The Pikachu however watched me carefully, especially as I moved to leave and brushed past it. It snarled at me, its little rosy cheeks suddenly blossoming with small sparks of electricity.

"Pikachu?" the boy questioned his Pokémon, "is something wrong?"

As though it knew me from somewhere, it didn't take its glare off me. A battle perhaps? I didn't know.

"Learn to control your Pikachu," I muttered to the boy before taking my leave.

* * *

Official competition started in the late morning once the pleasantries were dispensed, though they seemed short lived and common as the weaker trainers stumbled in and out of the matches with their low leveled Pidgey and Rattata.

I watched Giovanni in his seat in the judging panel, he looked visibly bored and tended to spend most of his time chatting quietly with the other gym leaders. Most of the audience at this stage spent its time wandering the markets and playing on the carnival rides until later in the afternoon when the bigger matches started.

I spotted Delia in the crowds, dressed in a pretty summer dress and matching straw hat. She accompanied acquaintances of hers associated with her cover no doubt. A flicker of familiarity showed in her eye as we caught each other's glances but she made no attempt at associating with me. We were 'strangers' after all and she couldn't risk being seen talking to me in public… especially after the stunt Team Rocket had lined up for the end of the festivities.

Evening fell and a brief recess was called on the matches where the host then went into introducing some famous local faces who had arrived at the festival as special guests - trainers who, at the expense of the city, had journeyed from their travels far and wide to be here.

One such trainer I recognized was the boy I'd bumped into earlier and his temperamental Pikachu. "And visiting us all the way from his travels through the Honen region we have Ash Ketchum of our sister town of Pallet!" The boy gave a brief wave as the announcer went into his trainer history including the several leagues and major competitions he'd been in.

I wouldn't have thought much of it, but it was also this point that I noticed Giovanni, who had previously been deep in conversation with one of his fellow gym leaders, suddenly perk up and take notice.

"Ash has been brought here by the kind support of the Kanto Gym Leaders Association and has been unanimously voted as one of the most promising up-coming trainers of the region."

The crowds went wild.

I could see why my father was so interested in him; he would make an excellent addition to Team Rocket as a formidable trainer and potential champion. Especially as I was out of the picture – after the stunt I'd pulled at the Indigo League the year before, I had long been banned from participating in the games.

I made a mental note to keep my eye on him, going to move on when I noticed his two friends pushing their way through the audience to gain a better view.

"It was really great you could meet us here Misty. We've missed having you travelling around with us," said the one named Brock.

The one named Misty nodded. "I've missed you guys, too. Wow, I can't believe how much Ash has grown up."

Brock had to agree.

"So do you still have Team Rocket on your tail all the time?" questioned Misty.

Brock gave a chuckle, "as always, Jessie and James are never far away. Keep your eyes peeled."

I didn't even notice the figure step up behind me until his large hand slammed down on my shoulder and yanked me backwards. I staggered on my feet, barely avoiding running into the large torso that belonged to none other than Tyson. On his face was an expression that more or less told me he was about ready to rip me limb from limb.

"Where the hell have you been? And why haven't you been responding to any of my pages?"

I fingered the earpiece that had found its way back in my pocket and chose not to respond.

"We're moving up the plan, security is getting tight. Get to your post agent."

* * *

**Author's Note:** If you're a little confused, Tyson appears in the red Gyrados episodes of the Anime. :). Stay tuned for a HEAP of action in the next chapter! ;)!


	5. Crash Landings

**Crash Landings**

My mission this time around was less than ideal. Today I was nothing more than a lowly level one grunt – my public face in the Team Rocket ranks. So of course, my duty was standing guard and watching over the back alleyway as Tyson and his men went to work on loading up a truck with boxes marked with an insidious red lettered EMBARGO printed on the sides. I had no idea what they contained. But apparently my father deemed them ripe for the picking. The warehouse in question backed onto the Pokémon Centre which shared the alleyway with us. This in itself proved to be a security risk as the city was already bustling with trainers, many of which piled into the Pokémon Centre after their battles. While no one thought to wander back this far, it was the extra police patrol circling the grounds that kept us on our toes.

Nevertheless, I heaved a sigh and leaned back on the wall, kicking at the concrete with my boot. I hated working weekends.

Things were going according to schedule, Tyson pulled down and locked the roller door before signaling for me to give up my post and squeeze into the truck with him and his driver. One man stayed behind to clear the scene and slip back into the festivities to report back to Giovanni. I envied him, as far as he was concerned, his job was done.

The truck started with a stutter and within a few minutes we were pulling out of the alleyway and onto the main road. I sat squashed between the driver and Tyson, irritated by the fact that his physique had to resemble that of a Machoke. I found myself wondering on the prospect of becoming the first person to invent pokéballs that would hold Humans.

Fortunately, our destination was only across the river, close by the docks where at a helipad one of Giovanni's large transport helicopters waited. Again, I was given the privilege of 'watch duty' as Tyson and his friend went to work loading the truck into the huge helicopter.

From my standpoint, I could clearly see the show grounds on the other side of the river. The fireworks were just starting so people piled onto the scene to gain the best view. Apart from a few clouds that managed to block the full moon, the skies were clear… well so I had thought until I spotted the huge head of a Meowth drifting toward the festival and had to double take.

"Uhoh," I announced, "prepare for trouble Tyson."

Tyson, who had since finished loading and stood, waiting for his takeoff orders, approached me from behind, following my point and sneered. "Jessie and James? What are they doing here?"

I squinted, watching the path of the balloon that now hung over the festival grounds. If they weren't careful, they would be right in the way of the fireworks.

"They're heading for the festival," I said.

"I'm not aware of any missions focused on the festival itself."

I smirked, "Jessie and James make up their own missions."

Tyson replied with a grunt, "Alright, forget them. We've gotta get moving."

We piled into the helicopter - me and the driver of the truck taking up passenger seats in the main body while Tyson took up the co-piloting station next to the pilot who insisted on keeping his head down and his mouth shut. In the time it took for us to strap in we all became very well aware of the commotion that now erupted on the other side of the river. If anything, Jessie and James' arrival would make for a guaranteed smooth getaway for us.

Engines started and we began takeoff.

"Head straight for the forest, I don't want us to be noticed," ordered Tyson to his pilot.

We barely reached it when a brilliant flash erupted from the earth below us, giving us only the time to blink before we spotted the hot air balloon hurtling toward us.

"Shit!" Tyson cursed, yanking the controls back and sending the helicopter into a steep lurch skywards.

I leaned back in my chair, my hands making a death grip on my harness, but there was nothing we could do to avoid the now deflated, giant Meowth head from hitting the windshield. The boys in the cockpit were now cursing even louder and a lot more as they fought to gain control of the helicopter that had taken on extra passengers. I could clearly see through one of the side windows the basket of the balloon that precariously swung around below us, containing the figures of three Humans and two Pokémon.

"We need to land!" I yelled.

"No! If we land, we'll get caught for sure!" Tyson countered. "Keep flying this piece of junk, we can handle it!"

"There are people in that basket, Tyson!" I fought.

"They're not our objective! They can hold tight until we get there!"

_There_ was still another forty minute flight from where we were and as I watched the basket swinging around in the hurricane-like draft, it became more and more apparent that the chords would sooner snap and send them hurtling back down to the ground below. Sitting around waiting for that to happen didn't show in my list of priorities.

Without thinking twice, I wrenched myself from my harness and burst to my feet, ignoring the cries of my superior to get back to my seat. I struggled at the sliding door in an attempt to get the stupid thing open, we were low enough that the air pressure wouldn't pose as a problem to us here but it still insisted on sticking.

"I said get back to your seat agent!" Tyson roared and joined by my friend in the back of the helicopter, they stumbled from their seats and thundered over to subdue me.

I struggled free of them by kneeing the first rocket in the groin and then leaning my weight on the wall I managed to swing my feet up and Tyson copped a face full of my boots.

"Arhhh!" He staggered backwards, shaking the figurative dots from his eyes. "That's it! I've had enough of your antics!"

He came at me again, but his tank of a body was just too slow and I evaded him with ease. He hit the wall and I kicked him in the gut, causing him to keel backwards. I attacked the door again, but this time it was the sudden lurch of the helicopter that sent me tumbling backward into Tyson. He caught me mid fall and we stumbled onto the floor together. His huge arms now wrapped tightly around my waist, there was little resistance I could put up as he rolled me underneath him and pinned me to the floor. His fist connected with my face and immediately I was seeing stars.

"You've defied my orders for the last time agent! This time I'm gonna make sure you-"

TWHANK! The fire hydrant made contact with his head, sending him reeling for the floor. He was out like a light.

I could only stare up in astonishment at my rescuer; his hat was pulled low over his eyes which were masked with thick sunglasses. I immediately frowned, not in the least bit surprised to see him. "Since when did you know how to fly a helicopter?"

Lance grinned at me. "Dragons aren't the only thing I know how to fly you know."

He pulled me to my feet and I had to resist the temptation to look him up and down. Admittedly, I'd never seen him in a Team Rocket uniform before. "So did you borrow that from a costume shop or do you actually own one of those?"

"I found it," he shrugged, quickly making his way back to the cockpit and checking to make sure the auto-pilot was still in good working order.

My glance fell on Tyson's other henchman who had also suffered the fate of his superior and I had to wonder which one of my father's men now found himself tied up back at the helipad and lacking his clothes.

"This thing is so unstable, I'm not sure how long the auto-pilot is going to hold for Kair!"

"I'm on it!" suddenly remembering my previous objective, I went back to struggling with the sliding door, this time managing to wrench the stupid thing open. I had to step back at the sudden rush of wind that came bursting up and into the helicopter, causing it to sway.

Lance cursed at the controls, fighting to keep it steady as I pulled my pokéball and threw it into the oblivion outside.

"Charizard! Get to that basket!"

HURRHHH!

My Charizard exploded from his ball, his wings flaring in the sudden updraft and for a moment he vanished from my vision. I caught the flash of a pokéball heading in my direction from the cockpit and barely caught it in time before it hit the floor. The red beam burst forth, sending Lance's Dragonite in the same direction as my Charizard who had already found his way to the basket.

Charizard worked on getting the inhabitants out as Dragonite attempted to tear the balloon away from the helicopter. She managed to catch the last person left hiding in the basket before she sent it spiraling downwards into the forests below us.

Jessie, James and Meowth staggered into the helicopter and flopped onto the floor, coughing and wailing at their misfortunes. I called back my Charizard just as Dragonite delivered the final package - the boy and his Pikachu. They barely landed when Jessie burst to her feet and grabbed the boy by his collar, screaming at him abuses that were drowned out by the rush of air that whipped at us.

"Hey!" I yelled, shoving her off him, they were in my way and I wanted to get the door shut.

Jessie stumbled, tripping back over Tyson's body on the floor and unintentionally shoved the kid into me. There was no time for us to get our balance, our arms were suddenly wind-milling and our feet touched nothing, and before we knew it, the boy, his Pikachu and I were freefalling. Tumbling and twisting, I watched the helicopter disappear above us, desperately grabbling with my belt for my Charizard's pokéball.

"Ahhhhhh!" The kid with me was screaming.

The beam of red shot across the sky and the figure of my Charizard formed above us. It blinked, searching… then spotted us before going into an instant dive, attempting to beat us to the tree-line that now came rushing up to meet us.

Whomph!

There was nothing but a blur before our bodies gently landed on his back, but the weight of us combined pushed Charizard down and he struggled to gain an updraft in time. Suddenly the forest was upon us and there was nothing we could do to stop Charizard from hitting the treetops, his wings shredding under the force.

"HURRRHH!" He bellowed, and together the four of us tumbled and rolled down to the forest floor below…


	6. Chansey Operation

**Chansey Operation**

I woke to the sunrise the next morning, finding myself staring up into the two pretty eyes of a nervous Nurse Joy.

"Uhhh," I heaved a moan, every joint in my body aching.

"Be still, you're at a Pokémon Centre in Viridian Forest. You and your friend took quite a tumble."

My eyes adjusted to the recovery room that I found myself in, where there I was lying on a bed meant for a sick Pokémon. Beds of different shapes and sizes surrounded me, some of them occupied by Pokémon waiting to be tended to by the centre's resident Chansey. Included in the mix was a young Pikachu who sat up, alert to the situation and my Charizard who looked like he'd seen better days. His wings were a mess as what had once been strong leather now hug in torn strips – it was these the Chansey spent most of its time on, wrapping them, sewing, rubbing them with ointments. It was clear he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Uhhh," I turned my head to the source of the utterance to my side, the boy named Ash was just coming around. He sat up slowly and rubbed his head. "Where am I?"

Nurse Joy repeated her statement, shifting from one foot to the other. "This is the only building in these forests for miles, hence why you're here and not in a hospital. Several trainers in the area spotted your balloon falling from the sky before they stumbled on you and brought you here. Team Rocket or not, I have a duty of care."

Taking a brief glance down at my uniform, I soon realised the reason for her nervousness.

"However," continued Joy, "the police are on their way."

I was definitely awake now. "What?"

But Joy said nothing more and simply wandered off back through the double doors into the surgery. I went to jump upright but was suddenly jolted backwards into my bed by my wrist. I cursed, I'd been cuffed to the bed!

Ash watched me, smirking and lying with his hands behind his head.

"What are you smirking at?" I growled, feeling around for something I could use to break free from the cuffs. "We've got to move."

"Speak for your self," he chortled. "Once Jenny turns up, you're the one who'll be in trouble. I'm completely innocent."

I stoped to raise an eyebrow at the kid. "Yes… so innocent they had to handcuff you to the bed too. Kid, you're old enough to stand trial. They're gonna be suspicious as to why you were hanging out with Team Rocket."

That busted his bubble so to speak and Ash immediately jolted upright, tugging at the metal cuffs that kept him attached to his bed.

"Hey! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!" his yell could be heard right across the centre but fell on deaf ears.

The Chansey had been trained to take no nonsense, so when it grew tired of his insolent ratings, it came over and gave him a swift double-slap in the face. The kid fell back into his bed, dazed and shocked. "I don't want to go to prison."

All the while I was in the process of attempting to reach a trolley that sat by Ash's bed, on it was a metal tray lined with several instruments. "If you don't want to go to prison then you can toss me a scalpel or something."

Ash's stare fell from me to the handcuffs. "If I throw you a scalpel you'll use it to escape. You're a bad guy… girl."

I didn't have the time for this…

"Listen," I heaved a sigh, "if you toss me something from that trolley, yes I'll use it to escape but I'll also let you out too. Then you can go and tell Joy and Jenny about their huge mistake, alright?"

The kid seemed to think it through for a moment before nodding, reaching over and throwing me a scalpel that imbedded itself into my boot, an inch higher and it would have got me in the leg.

"Sorry," he gave me a sheepish grin that clearly did not convey his genuine apology.

"Brat," I cursed at him and yanked the scalpel from my boot.

I got to work on my cuffs which, as I found, weren't police issued –this was fortunate, police handcuffs were nearly impossible to break out of, especially with a scalpel. In fact these cuffs looked more like they came from a hobby shop of sorts than anything… and suddenly my mind was flashing with 'Naughty Nurse Joy' scenes involving handcuffs and any other special 'utensils' only found in such a store.

_Click!_

That blessed sound brought me from my thoughts and I pulled my hand free. Quickly looking around to see if anyone else had noticed yet, I made my way over to Ash and worked on his cuffs.

_Click!_

"Chansey!" the pink Pokémon only just seemed to register what we were up to. It dropped what it was doing and came bounding over. "Chansey!" it's tone was more of a warning growl than the sweet chime it was better known for.

"Look out for its double-slap attack," Ash leapt from his bed to get out of the way of the Chansey.

The Chansey had another idea however, as its chants went back from warning to becoming soothing… peaceful.

"Wait, I know this tune! It's using sing!" Ash's shrill snapped me from my light daze. "Stop it from singing or we'll be asleep for hours."

But it sounded so beautiful… suddenly nothing else mattered, even the hurt in my body was gone. Every care in the world just seemed to drift right out the window and before I knew it I was sitting on the floor, just listing to that soothing melody, thinking that I only needed to rest my eyes for a few moments…

But then another feeling came over me… from somewhere deep inside. It was like my tiredness was emanating from me and working its way across the room to the Chansey. And as if to synchronise with my feelings, its eyes soon became heavy, its song slowly fading away. And before I knew it, just like every other Pokémon in the room, it was sound asleep.

My head felt so heavy, I was so tired… I needed…. help… the last thing I remember was reaching for the other pokéball on my belt….

Then SPLOOSH! I burst upright, leaping to my feet, dripping wet from head to toe. I don't know if it was more from the shock of getting wet or from the coldness but I was definitely awake. Feraligator's water gun subsided once he was sure that I was fully conscious. I'm not an expert on Pokémon expressions but I was almost certain that he had a cheeky grin on his face.

"Thanks," my eyebrow rose at the overkill, squeezing water from my hair and uniform. "You know a few drops on my face would have sufficed."

I found my Charizard's pokéball and headed over to his table where he rested soundly. His wings were still a mess, he still needed medical care but I couldn't just leave him here. I would present him to Team Rocket's medical facility as soon as I got back to Viridian. I recalled him back into his ball along with Feraligator, going to make my escape when I noticed Ash pulling himself to his feet.

I went for the nearest window and yanked it opened, sticking one leg through followed by the other.

"Hey! Where are you going?" the kid protested.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting out of here!"

Ash hopped about on both feet, should he go? Should he stay? To be honest, I had no intention of sticking around and waiting for him to make his decision. Once I was on the ground I took off toward the tree-line and disappeared into the forest, noticing the glimmer of a police car through the trees that made its way down an old dirt road leading up to the Pokémon Centre.

Moments later I heard Ash's call from behind as he ran towards me, carrying his sleeping Pikachu in his arms. "Hey! Wait up!"

I skidded in my tracks and he almost collided with me. "Shut up," I hissed. "You want to give our location away to everyone?"

"Well, yes. You are a criminal," he fought.

"And you aided said criminal in escaping. You know the charges for that are just as heavy."

This immediately shut his trap and hie eyes went wide and round.

"If you take my advice, you need to get as far away from here as possible. If you're lucky, Nurse Joy probably never got around to IDing you anyway."

I could see the figurative toggles ticking in his head as he cursed himself for acting on his own impulses before thinking of the consequences first. "Do you at least know where we are?" he questioned.

I gazed about the forest; it was all green, closed in and endless. "There's a dirt road, if we stay beyond the tree-line but follow it, then it should lead us back to Viridian City."


	7. Torchlight

**Torchlight**

Night settled in early due to the forest that pressed in on us. For the entire day we hadn't even seen the sky. The road was long and endless, and while I kept a careful eye out for cops, no traffic whatsoever passed us by.

"We're going to need to set up camp soon," I muttered under my breath, feeling the cool breeze through my still damp uniform.

"How about there?" Ash pointed.

I followed his point to a small ranger's cabin sitting just off the road that I'd completely missed. This brought a smile to my face. "Perfect."

The cabin, on close inspection was empty of inhabitants and when I jimmied with the lock, the front door came open with ease. It was tiny on the inside and smelled strongly of wood. It contained only one main living area and then an adjoining bathroom. A single cot sat in one corner and then an old couch, table and potbelly stove made up the remainder of the cabin.

The stove already had wood in it ready to burn and a small box that sat on the table contained matches and tea leaves. I got the fire going as Ash grabbed the pot sitting on the stove and filled it with water from the bathroom sink. And while we waited for it to boil, we sat hunched up on a couch that seemed to be lacking many of its springs.

Ash spent a moment looking through his backpack until he found what he was looking for and pulled out a checked napkin.

"Want one?" he unravelled about half a dozen cookies and offered.

My stomach was growling, we hadn't eaten all day so my dignity was the only thing that stopped me from dropping my face in that napkin and eating the entire batch.

"Thanks."

Pikachu hopped up onto his lap, too helping itself to a bite. And there we sat in silence, the only sounds to be heard were our munching and the crackle of the fire.

The cookies were hardly enough to fill us but it was something to take the edge off the hunger at least. I watched how the kid treated his Pikachu. I could tell it trusted him completely. And while it still disliked me immensely, it chose to at least be civil with me.

"It really likes you," I commented to-which Ash replied to with a warm smile.

"We're best friends. We're on this journey together."

"Pika!" Pikachu had to agree.

"He was my first Pokémon, I received him back when I was ten."

I smirked. "I can tell."

Pikachu had since taken to playing with Ash's hat as he pulled it from his head and romped about on the floor with it, making us both laugh.

"You know, you're not like the other Team Rocket members I'd met before." Ash mused.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? How many members of Team Rocket do you know?"

Ash shrugged. "I've met a few in my travels. They always seem so hungry for power and out to bring back the strongest Pokémon for the Boss. We've been travelling all day and you haven't once tried to steal my Pikachu."

I had to scoff. "No offence, but I don't see anything special about that Pikachu."

Ash's lip curled. "He is special, special enough that I've got Jessie and James on my back all the time trying to get their hands on him."

"Ah," I said absently. "Jessie and James aren't exactly the brightest of the bunch."

"You're telling me! If I owned Team Rocket, I would have fired them a long time ago. They're an embarrassment to the organisation."

On this I had to agree. "Well… Jessie and James are basically examples of how a Rocket shouldn't act. I get the impression that the boss purposely had them trained wrong as a joke."

Ash laughed. "Then where do you fit into all of this?"

I leaned my head back on the couch, heaving a tired sigh. "I'm not so much involved in the whole Pokémon smuggling like what Team Rocket is most famous for. I do a lot of behind the scenes stuff. Top Secrete, you know."

As evening settled on into night, we found it harder and harder to keep our eyes open. So allowing Ash to take up the bunk, I put myself to the hard task of attempting to make myself comfortable on the couch.

I'd barely started to drift off when I heard the light sound of yapping in the distance.

I would have thought nothing of it if it wasn't for the fact that this type of yapping belonged to only one sort of Pokémon - Growlithes.

I immediately shot upright, cursing out loud and bolting for the window where there I spotted torchlight bouncing off the trees.

Cops!

"Ash!" I scrambled across to his cot, yanking him from his sleep. "Ash quick! It's the police!"

The boy was barely awake when I shoved his backpack into his gut and clambered for the font door, and together we shot off into the blackness that was the forest.

We thundered on through the darkness, barely able to evade hitting the trees in our path. The sounds of the Growlithes together with the cries of the police where what urged us along. By now I was certain they had a definite trace on us, meaning that we really had no choice but to out smart them rather than out run them.

Ash kept a steady pace just behind me and to be honest, I had no idea why he was running too. I guess at the moment it seemed like the only smart thing to do.

Torchlight now bounced off the trees, hot on our tails and lighting up the path that we had barely managed to stumble over.

"There!" I heard a yell and risked it all by taking a glance behind me to see the Growlithe gaining on us fast.

"Rrrrrrr!" Ash didn't even stand a chance as in one giant leap it tackled him to the ground.

"Arhhh!" the kid yelled, hitting the dirt and sending his Pikachu tumbling.

I don't know what possessed me to stop, but I did, facing the dog that now pinned Ash to the ground, fangs bared and snarling just inches from his face.

"Feral-"

I went for my gator but Pikachu beat me to it with a mighty thunderbolt that sent the dog flying. I made a dash for Ash, pulling him to his feet just as the other dogs reached us. My heart was screaming in my chest, my head beginning to pound… and suddenly my mind was racing… what abilities could I use? Telekinesis? No… Teleport.

The thought only had the chance to enter my mind as with one hand on the kid and his Pikachu the brilliant flash filled my eyes and suddenly we were elsewhere… falling and tumbling down a large slope.

"Ooof!" we landed in a mass tangle of arms and legs, the contents of our pockets spilling out all over the ground before us.

But the Growlithes were gone… as were the torches.

I heaved a satisfied sigh, fighting back the dizziness that came with having successfully used my ability. And I realised right then how handy this Mew DNA would prove to be.

"What the..?" was all Ash had to offer. "What just happened? Did we just? Did you?" his look on me was one of pure bewilderment.

There was a pokédex lying on the ground that I assumed belonged to Ash – as I hadn't brought mine. We both went to grab it at the same time which automatically turned it on and it went about scanning its environment. It acquired its target, which just so happened to be me and bleeped. "Unkown psychic type."

Uncurling myself from the body pile, I staggered to my feet and brushed the dirt off my pants. "Trust me kid, it would be best if you didn't know."


	8. Dragonite Vs Feraligator

**Dragonite Vs. Feraligator **

We wandered in the darkness. All I knew was that the police and their Growlithes were nowhere to be seen. My teleportation had worked and we'd managed to loose them for the moment. The only problem was that I had no idea how far I'd teleported, let alone where we were. I was looking for the dirt road we'd been following the previous day but we might as well have been walking around in circles.

Eventually, I had to give up. I flopped to the ground in a big heap, heaving a weary sigh. "Its pointless journeying in the dark, we're better off waiting until dawn."

Ash joined me, leaning his back up against a tree and welcoming the much needed rest.

I was beyond exhausted, so the moment I rested my head back on the tree and closed my eyes, I was sleeping…

* * *

FWOMPH!

I snapped awake to the sound of something large landing on the ground behind us. From the sounds if its breathing and the slow movements it made, it sounded like a large Pokémon. Shoving the kid's head from my shoulder I quickly got into a crouching position, poking my head out from behind the tree where there in a forest clearing, a Dragonite happily grazed on a low hanging tree branch.

I got to my feet and came around the tree to meet her master who carefully surveyed his surroundings.

"Kair," Lance straightened, "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Yes, and apparently everyone from the Viridian City Police Department too," I forged a smile, never more relieved to see him.

"I know," Lance mused. "It's been all over the news, apparently a female member of Team Rocket matching your description is involved in kidnapping a young trainer and escaping from a Pokémon Centre."

"Ah," I replied. "So that's the story now, is it?"

Lance smirked, somewhat content with himself for whatever reason. "I just wanted to say I'm impressed with what you did the other day in the helicopter. You put people before your job, that's admirable."

I replied with a chortle, "and look where that got me."

"I'll clear things up," he confirmed. "Is Ash still with you?"

I pointed him to our tree where the boy still slept soundly with his Pikachu. "I think he'll be happy to see a friendly face."

Lance went and woke the kid, who seemed elated at seeing someone he knew – I hadn't realised they were already acquainted. Gathering himself to his feet, he wiped his clothes of dirt and dead leaves and allowed his Pikachu to clamber onto his shoulder.

"Come on guys, I'll show you back to civilisation." Lance signalled for his Dragonite.

"Kair, call your Charizard, Ash you're with me."

But I stopped, casting him a defeated stare. "He can't fly."

"What?" questioned Lance.

"He shredded his wings in the fall the other day."

His eyes scrunched and I watched him immediately snap into 'Pokémon Master' mode. "Let me see."

I was hesitant as I handed him Charizard's pokéball, suddenly feeling very conscious of the lack of Trainer care I'd given him as of late. Needless to say, when he came out of his Pokéball, Charizard was not looking pretty. He just lay there on the ground, heaving a moan that made my heart want to shatter into a million pieces. The drugs Nurse Joy gave him had worn off by now and he was very obviously in a lot of pain. His wings glowed a deep red around his wounds and the flame on his tail was weak.

My guilty gaze fell on Lance who only stared at the messy state of my Pokémon. His face was expressionless but I could tell by the way he clenched his jaw and balled his fists that he wasn't happy.

"How could you let him get into this state?" he said quietly. "He needs to be hospitalised right away Kair."

"Don't you think I already know that?" I growled defensively. "I couldn't just abandon him at the Pokémon Centre."

"No, you should have done the responsible thing and stayed there with him. That's the thing with you Kair, you're always putting yourself above your Pokémon!"

He went to fumbling through his rucksack, pulling from it a potion which he used to spray on my Charizard's wings. "That should keep off any infection for now."

I watched him speak to the Pokémon, soothing his hurt with his words. Lance gave him a gentle pat on the head and checked his eyes and mouth. The Charizard was already beginning to feel sleepy as the effects of the potion began to kick in.

Lance drew him up into the pokéball and clipped it to his belt.

"Hey," I said, "What are you doing?"

He chose not to look at me while he packed his rucksack. "I'm confiscating your Charizard."

"What?" I reeled. "You can't do that! That my Charizard!"

"And until you know how to take care of it properly, I'm holding onto it."

"Like hell you are," I fought, stomping over to him and going to grab it from his belt but his Dragonite beat me to him, standing in my way and snarling at me defensively.

I backed up, knowing all to well what kind of power this beast was willing to push.

"As I was saying, as a member of the Pokémon G-Men, I have a responsibility to act on behalf of injured or mistreated Pokémon. I have the right to strip a Trainer of his or her Pokémon if I see they've been treating them poorly."

My eyes fell from Lance to his Dragonite, then to Ash and his Pikachu who watched us carefully from the sidelines. I was furious! He couldn't do that! Not to me!

But then my anger subsided and slowly gave way to a cocky smirk. Dragon Master or not, I wasn't about to give in and play by his rules. I was going to get my Charizard back.

"Is that how it is then?" I stepped into a slow circle around Lance and his Dragonite. Grabbing the other Pokéball from my belt I threw it high above my head before stepping away and allowing my Feraligator to escape his ball.

"Hurrrrh!"

Lance's eyes immediately scrunched. "What are you up to?"

"I'm going to fight you for my Charizard back, that's what I'm up to."

He seemed taken aback - almost dumfounded that I dared even think of challenging him. "Alright," he said hesitantly. "You're on." Then to our observer, "Ash, you referee. I've got a feeling this is going to be a short match." He grinned at me.

He was probably right… but the thing about Team Rocket is that we never like to play by the rules. And the one advantage I had was the face that given the thickness of the Viridian Forest, Lance's Dragonite wouldn't be able to successfully utilise any flying attacks.

"Feraligator, Hydro Pump!" I threw my first order.

"Thunderwave!" Lance took no time in employing disabling tactics on my Feraligator.

The antenna on Draongite's head began to spark but it was soon forced to dodge the wall of water that Feraligator sent in her direction. Dragonite retaliated with her own line electrical attacks.

"Hurrr!" my Feraligator copped the full brunt of Dragonite's thunderwave and fell like a sack of potatoes.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" Lance asked me from across the little clearing.

Feraligator was already pulling himself to his feet, shaking off Dragonite's previous attack. It looked clearly rattled but ready to battle.

"Not until I get my Charizard back," I replied in kind. "Feraligator, Ice Fang!"

"Dragonite, Hyperbeam!"

"Rrrwhhh!" Lance's Dragonite barely got the chance to draw in the energy for her attack before Feraligator's teeth chomped into her neck with his ice attack. The Dragonite reeled, her Hyperbeam shredding the ground at Feraligator's feet, the shockwave sending him toppling backwards into a tree trunk.

Something hit the ground at my feet and caused me to step sideways and I glimped the small pokéball shaped object that rolled about on the forest floor. A tiny red light blinked on it and it beeped constantly - becoming louder and more constant.

Then BOOM! The white flash was so bright and intense that it sent me into a spiral. I staggered for a tree, waiting to recover from the flash explosion and the dots to clear from my eyes.

Lance was already by my side, pulling me into a protective hug. "Are you alright?"

I staggered in attempt to regain my balance, only noticing the figure dressed in black coming up from behind Ash and Pikachu. I didn't even get the chance to warn him before he found himself ambushed and dragged kicking and screaming back into the thick of the forest.

Two black coloured balls came hurtling through the forest, quickly sucking up Dragonite and Feraligator.

"Lance!" I yelled just as another figure appeared from behind him and I quickly scooted around him, kicking him in the gut and sending him tumbling into the clearing.

He was dressed like a ninja and demonstrated such abilities as he burst to his feet and signalled his friends from the forest. And all at once Lance and I found ourselves surrounded by a circle of similarly dressed ninjas. We backed into one another but put up little defence as they jumped us and we found ourselves quickly subdued.

Hands grabbed me, wrenching my arms up and behind my back and forced me to my knees. A blindfold was placed over my face before I felt the strength of someone twice my size lean down and sling me over one shoulder, carrying me back through the forest.


	9. Coat of Arms

**Coat of Arms**

The figure placed me down on cold stone floor before the blindfold was ripped from my face. I blinked in the darkness, my gut sore at having been perched up on his shoulder for what seemed like ages. Now I was in an underground cavern of sorts, in a cell. Ninjas surrounded us, but it was the huge, bearded man who stood to my front that grabbed most of my attention. He seemed familiar but most of his face was obscured by the large, iron mask he wore on his head. He stood with his arms crossed and his crotch inches from my face.

"Make sure they're secure, I don't want these kids getting out and running amuck," he ordered, stepping from the cell and letting his ninja henchmen slam the cell door behind him where we were left to our own devices.

I heaved a sigh, looking about and finding that the figure sitting behind me was not who I was expecting.

"Ash?"

The kid grunted, licking a bloody lip. He looked as though he'd put up a fight but then wound up on the wrong side of a ninja.

"Where's Lance?"

"I don't know, I only saw them bring you in."

I did a quick scan of our surroundings. Outside our cell was a security room with many T.V screens, these broadcasted camera footage of what looked to be some sort of an underground establishment not unlike the ones my father owned. A nameless ninja sat in a chair with his feet up on the console of his station, keeping one eye on the screens and the other on a naughty magazine.

"What is this place?" I questioned.

"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought this was another Team Rocket establishment," stated Ash bluntly. "But now that you're here, I'm not so sure."

"Yes, because _'ninja'_ is the new Team Rocket," I snorted.

Ash replied to my sarcasm with a brief roll of the eyes. "It was the iron masked guy, I know him. I met him in the Ilex Forest in Johto. He's called the Iron Masked Marauder and the last I heard he was working for Team Rocket. I think he was planning on staging some sort of take over."

For some reason I suspected my father wouldn't have approved.

Something on the screen soon caught the attention of our ninja watcher and he sat up, putting his magazine aside. He picked a T.V screen and enlarged the picture before turning up the volume and watching it with great interest. There on the screen, my previous question on Lance's whereabouts were answered as he found himself in an office and dumped at the feet of our Iron Masked friend.

"I'm glad you could make it," the masked man grinned at him, his voice menacing.

Lance slowly pulled himself to his feet, facing off with this tank of a man.

The Marauder continued, "It was a nice surprise having you drop in like this with your little friends. When I saw that Dragonite of yours fighting like that, I found the temptation irresistible."

"What have you done with her?" Lance growled.

"She's become the prime subject in my little experiment. Might I add, the experiment was a complete success.

You see, a while back, and with the help of some experienced scientists, I was able to develop some truly incredible pokéballs, ones that had the ability to bend the wills and minds of Pokémon into complete, utter and total submission.

Unfortunately, and as you may recall, you and your band of PGM clowns found the labs and destroyed the experiment before we could develop beyond the prototypes. It took me months to find someone willing enough to finance such an operation once again.

And now," he grinned, juggling two black pokéballs in one hand. "we have our successful prototype and our candidate. I needed to test it on something strong. What stronger tame Pokémon would there be apart from that Dragonite of yours?"

"You can't do that, it's disgusting," Lance's argument, while noble, seemed so small when compared to the power that stood before him.

The Marauder only laughed at him. "That's only the beginning of the bigger picture, cape boy. What my boss has in store for you still eludes me but orders are orders and he wants you to stay put right here."

He pointed Lance to a seat which the Marauder's ninjas pushed him into and bound his hands and feet.

"The master should be on his way."

"And who might that be?" questioned Lance.

But the Marauder shrugged. "No one knows. I guess you're lucky you'll get to meet him. The bad news is that no one sees his face and lives to tell the story."

And with that, the Iron Masked Marauder and his ninjas left Lance to sit alone in the office.

Dramas over, our guard who watched the TV screen shrunk the view and went back to work on his magazine.

"We've got to get Lance out of there," Ash voiced my thoughts.

"Any suggestions on how?" I asked.

The boy was fidgeting with his pockets, attempting to find something he could put to use but lint and old food wrappers was all it resulted in. "What about that scalpel from the Pokémon Centre? Do you still have that?"

"Nope," I confessed. "I do too much rolling around to keep sharp objects in my pockets."

That left us back to square one.

I stood at the cell door, leaning my head on the bars and heaved a weary sigh and it seemed that no matter where I went, trouble was sure to follow. For some reason, Jessie and James' motto popped into my head and I couldn't help but to change it to apply to me. Jessie and James had seen the inside of many cells, and most of the time, they were on their own in trying to find a way out.

I wracked my brain, trying to recall in detail the stories Jessie had told me in the brief time that we'd worked together. Using our Pokémon was out of the question, they'd been confiscated. Digging a hole lacked any purpose as we were already under ground and lacking the tools we needed to make such a feat possible.

My eyes fell on the TV monitors. While Lance's screen had since been shrunk, I could still make out his figure sitting in the chair. He stared intently at something on the wall. I squinted, trying to make out the image. It was a fabric wall-hanging bearing a coat of arms. Two silver Dragonites protected a shield bearing a symbol that I couldn't quite make out. I frowned, regardless, I'd seen that coat of arms before, I was sure of that, but I had no idea when or where.

Not that it mattered right then, I was still working on finding a way out.

"What about the keys?" Ash pointed, capturing my attention. They were sitting on the desk close to our guard but out of his line of vision.

"You're a psychic right? You can use telekinesis to bring them over."

For a seemingly inattentive kid, he seemed to pick up on a lot of things that others missed. He probably used that to his advantage too, luring battle opponents into a false sense of security. It was a good tactic.

"Alright," I licked my lips, attempting to call on the power that I knew was in me. "No sweat."

For a moment neither of us moved as I concentrated on those keys, willing them over… to at least make a twitch…

"Urh! It's not working," I finally exclaimed too loud for comfort and alerted our security guard.

"Hey, quiet you two," he growled at us before engrossing himself back into his magazine. I imagined the salary here was most likely comparable to Team Rocket.

"Try it again," Ash whispered, "Sometimes to get my Pokémon going, I do exercises with them."

I glared down at the kid. "Do I look like a Pokémon to you?"

"Well… no… but," the kid stammered.

"It's the principal of the matter, I know," I heaved another sigh, turning my head back to those keys… maybe he was right… maybe I had to think like a Pokémon. Telekinesis where were you?

"_Concentrate, Kair. Just…. Concentrate." _

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply and then exhaling all of my fears and unnecessary thoughts just as my previous master had taught me. Voiding my head of all thinking apart from the exercise, I pictured those keys in my mind and then I pictured them in my hands. Opening my eyes, I focused on nothing but those keys. A familiar pounding began to form in my mind, and I quickened my breathing, bringing up my heart beat.

THUMP THUMPTHUMP!

That air around me was beginning to change and I could clearly see now, how everything seemed to be connected to invisible chords. All I had to do was to find the right one and pull…. The keys began to move slightly at first but faster as my mind tugged harder and harder on those chords.

They came up off the desk, the weight of them suddenly bearing down on my mind and I had to fight not to drop them. I reached one arm through the bars, quickly snatching them from midair as they drifted on over. And by the time our guard realised what we were up to, we were already out of the cell.

He spun in his chair, going to scream when my fist made contact with his face…

Ash got right onto the task of studying the monitor and working out where we needed to go. Lance was being held in one room and our Pokémon appeared to be stuck in what looked to be a storeroom of sorts. Another monitor showed the Masked Marauder busy harassing one of his little scientists in a testing lab.

"Come on," I grabbed the kid by the shirt. "I've got a fair idea of where we need to go."

* * *

The good thing about this particular underground facility was that it stretched out in one long line - the administration area resided at the front and then testing labs and store rooms followed on behind. The annoying part was the fact that there was only one main walkway to access these parts and for the most of the time they were busy with workers and the occasional ninja. So Ash and I were constantly ducking into shadows and adjoining rooms.

The office we were looking for had a little reception area of its own, which at this point was unoccupied. I recognised the large, double doors from the TV screen and knew right away that we were in the right place. So getting Ash to keep watch I went to work on rummaging about the desk for a key and toying with the lock.

The door clicked open and I pulled myself into the dark office. A single lamp stood alone to the centre of the room shinning over the head of one Dragon Master. He was facing the other way but his head snapped around at my approach.

"Guess who," I smiled, leaning down and whispered playfully in his ear.

"Kair," his hiss was one of relief. "Get me out of here."

For the most part, he had already done the hard work and struggled free of many of his bonds, I just helped him finish the job and he got to his feet, rubbing his painful wrists.

Here I got a better look at the coat of arms. The symbol sitting in the shield revealed itself as being a Dragon fang, and then beneath it were words in a scratchy scrawl I recognised as Dragon Script, "Passion, Power, Providence," I translated.

Lance spun and I shrugged.

"The coat of arms."

"You can read Dragon script?"

"Not really," had to confess. "Only the occasional word or saying. You know common stuff. What significance do those three words have?"

He followed my gaze before his face took on a serious scowl. "It's an old Dragon saying. Associated with the Shadow Arts."

I fell into step behind him as we made our way from the office and back out into the main part of the facility. "There are Shadow Arts in Dragon Mastery?" I asked with an amused smirk. "Sounds scary."

Lance gave me the rise of an eyebrow, "Why do you think in history Dragons are always associated with sorcery?" Then getting back to business he pulled Ash and I into a huddle. "We've got to get our Pokémon back and destroy their research. If something like this gets out… its just too dangerous."

"If we do one thing, we will most likely be caught before we get to the other," I pointed.

"Which is why we need to split up."

"Kair and I know where the lab is as well as the storeroom where our Pokémon are being kept," piped Ash.

"Good, then Kair, you go get our Pokémon, Ash you can show me the way to the testing lab."

"But Lance, you don't have your Pokémon with you," countered Ash. "And I've got to make sure Pikachu is ok."

"Pikachu will be fine in Kair's hands and what makes you think I need my Pokémon to destroy research?" he smiled, signalling for the kid to follow him and the two left me alone to find my way to the storeroom.


	10. Kair Vs The Iron Masked Marauder

**Author's WARNING:** Parts of this chapter may disturb some readers.

* * *

**Kair Vs. The Iron Masked Marauder**

Getting to the storeroom was easy enough, getting out with a mitt full of Pokéballs without anyone noticing was a different story entirely…

The storeroom was approximately the size of a battle arena and packed with crates of varying shapes and sizes. To my left was a shelf that lined the wall where our pokéballs were all situated while Pikachu sat hunched up in a little cage.

The sorry little Pokémon perked up when he saw me. "Pika Pikachu?"

"Yeah, I'm here to get you out," I whispered. "Ash is taking care of something."

I searched the storeroom for a key or something I could use to break into the cage and soon found a desk sitting in a corner, partially hidden behind a tower of crates. These crates too showed the same coat of arms that was on the wall hanging.

I heard the sound of an alarm and cursed, knowing that I needed to hurry - the boys had already broken into the lab. Quickly fumbling about the desk for the keys to Pikachu's cage, I ended up with more than that I bargained for when the huge figure stepped into the storeroom behind me.

I straightened at the sound of his heavy footsteps and spun to face the giant himself. He stood with his hands on his hips, grinning like the twisted freak he was.

"I knew who you were the moment I saw you," the Ironed Masked Marauder snarled. "You're a company girl. Daddy must be so proud of you."

"You wouldn't know the half of it," I leered, backing into the desk.

"My new boss doesn't know you're here. I wanted to take matters into my own hands. Your father burned me for the last time."

I searched the room for an escape but soon came to the conclusion that there was no way out except through him.

"And what matters might they be, exactly?" I almost feared to ask.

"This," his hand flashed forth so fast that I didn't even get the chance to dodge it. He grabbed me by the throat, taking my whole body with a single wrench and pinning me up against the wall.

I struggled under his grasp as he slowly lifted me from the ground. I clawed at his hand, choking for air. My legs flailed about, kicking and lashing out at him but he held me just out of reach.

I somehow managed to get one leg up and over his arm, clambering it like a Mankey which forced him to drop me and I hit the ground, gasping for air. He grabbed me by the hair, throwing me up and across the storeroom and I rolled, feeling something bruise in my side. His strength… he couldn't possibly be Human!

He went for me again and I made a feeble kick at his kneecap. The Marauder howled as it popped out of its socket and I used that chance to stagger to my feet.

_Crack! _

I could only cringe as he popped it back in, casting me an angry glare. "You're going to pay for that, girly!"

I scrabbled for the Pokéballs in some sort of attempt to get help from whatever random Pokémon came out. But the Marauder was not only huge, he was fast too and he managed to grab me by the shirt and in my struggles, tore a strip right off it. This time he pinned me into a crate, my face made contact with wood and for a moment I saw stars. He was on top of me, forcing me to spin into him as he tugged at my uniform, his grin hungry and screaming for domination.

"Arhhh!" I let out a bellow, struggling vainly against brute strength.

His vulnerable parts were covered in armour, and what wasn't, was strong enough to stand up to my attack. And suddenly I realised there was nothing I could do to stop him from having his way with me.

My heart was screaming in my ribcage, I could already feel the ache beginning to rise in my head; one that told me my special little ability was once again beginning to manifest. But instead of fighting it, this time I chose to work with it, clearing my mind of all feeling and letting it settle into every available crevice of my brain.

He kissed me, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth and I went limp, allowing the Marauder easy access to the places he wanted before I felt the power spike in me, my senses rising and becoming hyper sensitive.

The bubble of rage began to rise in me, expanding into a great ball of energy before WHOOOMPH! It exploded from my body, sending my attacker flying across the storehouse and into a pile of empty crates that did nothing but shatter at his impact.

I slid to the ground, dazed and mortified, wiping my bloody nose - but I was in one piece.

"She's in here!" I watched the kid skid in the doorway, frantically pointing at me. "Kair, are you alright? We heard a crash." He stoped only to gaze at the fallen form of the Masked Marauder and had to double take.

"I'm fine," shaky, I helped myself to my feet, brushing the splinters from my clothes and spitting his vile saliva from my mouth. "All of your Pokéballs are over there."

Still shaking, I allowed the boys to grab their Pokémon. Ash worked on breaking his Pikachu from his cage as, noting my demeanour, Lance was by my side, asking me of my wellbeing. But I pushed him away, for a moment taking solace in my own personal space. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had just gone down, my shirt was in tatters.

Letting his cape drop, Lance immediately pulled off his tunic and handed it to me, allowing me the chance to restore my dignity.

"Thanks," I whispered, tugging the shirt over my head. "You know I always thought that was a one piece outfit."

Lance smiled warmly, throwing the cape back over his bare shoulders. "Do you have any idea how difficult those things are to get into?"

"We're missing two Pokémon," Ash brought us back down to a harsh reality. "Dragonite and Feraligator."

"Looking for these?" as if on cue we spun at the voice, only just realising that the Masked Marauder was no longer on the floor. In fact he was very much conscious and now stood some distance from us, twisting a couple of sinister looking pokéballs in his hand. These he tossed into the air releasing their inhabitants in an eerie beam of black rather than the familiar red.

Dragonite and Feraligator landed, standing quietly and attentive, and even from our standpoint we could feel the dark aura that surrounded them. Rather than the fighting sparkle in their eyes there was deadness - as though to be Pokémon zombies or something of the sort.

The Masked Marauder was elated as he watched the three of us slowly back into one another. "Not only are these Pokémon under my complete submission, but the balls have pumped them full of enhancers. They are more powerful in every way."

"You can't do that!" Flying into a furious frenzy, Lance yelled at him. "Enhancers push Pokémon beyond their natural limits."

The Marauder burst into a loud cackle, clearly amused by the Dragon Master's steadfastness. "I can and I will, cape boy! Now prepare to taste juiced up Hyperbeam, kids!"

A single click of the finger was all it took to send Lance's Dragonite forward, the Hyperbeam attack immediately forming in her mouth.

BOOM!

We barely got the chance to duck and roll as everything left where we were standing was pulverised. Wood splinters and shards of flooring rained down over us and we ran for cover, hiding in amongst crates and storage containers.

Crouching, we pressed ourselves up against a container, peering out over the aftermath of Dragonite's single Hyperbeam attack which had blasted a massive crater in the floor.

"Those pokéballs, we've got to destroy them and it will break the hold he has on the Pokémon," Ash hissed. From his position, he watched the Marauder who seemed too consumed in his laughter to care whether the shot missed us or not.

"Meanwhile, there are a couple of supercharged Pokémon in the way, Ash," I leered.

Lance didn't take his gaze off his Dragonite, jaw clenching, fists balling, I knew there wasn't much right then that stopped him from jumping out there and ripping the Marauder's vocal chords out of his throat.

"We don't have a choice, we're going to have to fight them," I knew it pained him to say that, fighting his own Pokémon didn't come naturally to him.

It did come naturally to me however.

"Lance, give me one of your Pokémon. I'll take out Feraligator and you two worry about Dragonite."

It actually surprised me that he didn't think twice about it as he unclipped a pokéball from his belt and handed it to me. I hated to admit it, but at the thought of having one of the Champion's own Pokémon under my command, I immediately found myself consumed by a wave of giddiness. Feraligator was going down.

"Alright, on the count of three," whispered Lance. "One…"

"Three!" I burst to my feet, hurling Lance's pokéball with all my might, eager to see what it contained.

"Ri'rrrhhh!" Its cry sounded aloud through the storeroom and the great, snakelike figure of a Dragonair formed on the ground in front of Feraligator.

Lance was immediately behind me, "Dragonair, listen to everything Kair says!"

I didn't have the time to stop to see what he chose to use against his own Dragonite, I had a gator to take care of.

My Feraligator straightened, as if to examine this juicy piece of meat that I presented before him. But rather then his usual cocky demeanour, it was like looking at a robot.

The Masked Marauder soon realised he had his work cut out for him when he saw the three of us line up against him. Ordering one Pokémon was hard enough in battle let alone two, so he chose to take the easy way out. "Slaughter their Pokémon!"

Feraligator obliged, which only ticked me off because he was mine. He answered to me and me alone! He went straight in for an attack, fangs bared and ready to use Bite. And it was then that I realised I'd let the excitement of the moment consume me and actually didn't have a clue what attacks this Dragonair knew.

My mind suddenly went blank and I found myself racing back through the times that I'd seen Lance's Dragonite in action. What was pretty standard for its type?

"Thunderwave!" I yelled suddenly.

Unlike the antennas on Dragonite's head that lit up, the little ball under its chin came to life, sending out a brilliant spark of electricity that stopped Feraligator in his tracks.

I took the chance to quickly hop over to Ash's side. Too consumed in battle, he didn't even notice me swipe the pokédex from his pocket.

FWWOOMPH! Feraligator was only just getting to his feet when the huge red Gyrados landed inches from him, only to be wiped out by an almighty Dragon Rage attack compliments of Lance's zombie Dragonite.

"Dragonair," the dex finished its scan and chirped happily. "This Dragon type-"

"I don't have the time for this!" I jabbed at the buttons, skipping the introduction and searching the stupid thing for an option on attacks.

"Dragonair's most common attacks include: Twister, Thunderwave, Slam and Warp."

Feraligator was on his feet and Dragonair looked as though it was getting ready to take matters into its own figurative hands.

CHOMP! Feraligator's jaws snapped at it, but before I'd even gotten the chance to order its next attack it pulled its slimy body upwards and coiled itself right around Feraligator's body. Feraligator staggered on his own two feet and hit the ground, gasping for air as the Dragonair's warp attack sapped him of his energy.

HURRRHH! Feraligator bellowed, biting at anything it could sink its teeth into including Dragonair's tail.

"Ri'rrrhh!"

"Dragonair, don't let Feraligator go! Give it another thunderwave!"

ZAAPPP! I had to squint at the force of the attack as it cooked my Feraligator.

Dragonair unravelled itself from Feraligator's body and at my command finished him off with a quick Slam attack. Feraligator was down. Now all there was left was one angry Dragonite to face and she wasn't backing down.

Realising he only had one Pokémon left, the Marauder then turned all of his focus on Lance's Dragonite, giving me the chance I needed to snap up my Feraligator into a pokéball.

Another Hyperbeam tore through the storeroom. I didn't even get the chance to react before it hit Dragonair full force, knocking it out instantly. I had no choice but to withdraw it.

"Areodactyl! Another wing attack!" Seeing that I'd been stripped of my Pokémon, Lance grabbed me by the arms and pulled me back behind the sideline.

Ash sat on the floor dazed and mortified as he cradled his Pikachu in his arms. Like me, he was down and out.

Areodactyl hit the ground with a loud thud, too exhausted to battle. Dragonite didn't look any better. She stood there panting, a loud wheeze escaping her lungs every time she exhaled. She'd been scorched, burned, and partially paralysed as one of her wings hung aimlessly to one side. But still the Marauder forced her on, the Dragonite unable to stop… and it seemed that he would sooner let her die than lose at the hands of the Dragon Master.

Lance clutched his final Pokéball, knowing that whatever he had left inside it would surely mean the death of his beloved Dragonite.

"You need to stop this!" his cry echoed off the storeroom walls. "You've proven your point."

"You mean you give up?" the Masked Marauder seemed suddenly shocked.

"For the sake of Dragonite's safety, I forfeit."

That left an eerie silence in the room. The Champion… Master of all Pokémon Trainers clipped his final Pokéball back to his belt and admitted defeat.


	11. Ricochet

**Ricochet**

We all stood motionless… frozen in space and time….

The Iron Masked Marauder seemed dazed by the prospect, but in all retrospect, the only thing he had proven was that he was inhumanely brutal. Still, this was a victory in his books... and he couldn't stop the grin that seemingly engulfed his entire face.

The only problem was that we were still here and the Marauder still had business to take care of. "Dragonite, finish them off. Don't you stop until I see their mangled carcasses on the floor!"

Dragonite partially sat on the ground, beyond exhausted. There was a glimmer in her eye… an awareness that suddenly seemed to rise up and break her from her zombie-like state. She moved, drawing in every ounce of energy to create her final Hyperbeam, though in her eyes I watched the struggle, she was unable to will her body to listen to her. I could feel it in the air… her silent cries that seemed to emanate toward me.

"_Help me. Don't let me do this,"_ her voiceless whisper was in my mind.

Lance stood to the front of us, pitching himself between us and Dragonite's attack. The action in itself seemed so small but it was enough for his Dragonite not to give up the fight. A gut wrenching wail escaped her lungs, one that made the entire room vibrate.

"She's fighting him," Ash was by my side, his voice nothing but a whisper. "We need to make it stop." I knew the kid was contemplating doing something stupid.

"Dragonite! Hyperbeam! Now!"

There wasn't time to think. The kid went to make a dash for the Dragonite but I grabbed him and threw him to the floor. Then with every ounce of strength left in my body, I bolted for the Dragon Master, reaching him just as the Hyperbeam came hurling towards us.

It was pure adrenalin… my arms came up, as if in attempt to stop the beam and then, BOOM!

The brightness was so intense that I had to close my eyes. I didn't even get to see the great shield that formed from my own body, the Hyperbeam hitting it with such force that it sent me sliding backwards, the heels of my boots creating gouge marks in the floor. The Hyperbeam ricochet from the field and hurtled back into its originator and sent her flying back into the Masked Marauder.

It took moments for the smoke to clear - for the dots to leave my eyes and my ears to stop ringing. I hit the ground, my legs simply unable to hold my weight. A pressure weighed so heavily on my mind that I literally was not able to comprehend which way was up.

Lance was holding me, talking to me… asking me things… but his voice was nothing more than a gabled echo.

"Get to your Dragon!" I roared at him, suddenly and unexpectedly infuriated at his lack of attentiveness to his own Pokémon.

The Masked Marauder and the Dragon were out cold on the floor but still breathing. They'd taken out a wall of crated foodstuff which now spilled out everywhere.

Lance tossed Ash his Pokéball and the kid hurried over and recalled Dragonite. He then went and found the Marauder's own special pokéballs and promptly stomped on them, destroying them.

It was when the sprinklers came on that I realised there was an alarm blaring. I glanced upwards to see the huge crack that formed in the ceiling as a result of our battle. The crack grew - expanding out of the storehouse and into the main part of the facility.

"The roof is going to give!" Ash voiced.

No one got the chance to react before our only exit gave out under the pressure and crumbled, trapping us in the storeroom. Rocks and dirt rained down over us choking the air with thick dust.

"There's no way out!" cried Lance. He pulled us into a protective huddle underneath his cape.

Something was stinging in my side and it was only then that I saw the huge splinter sticking from it and realised that the red stuff all over the floor happened to be my own blood.

"Wait!" Ash countered, "Kair! You can help us! You need to teleport us like you did in the forest."

The thought of calling on my ability again only made me feel exhausted. My mind was already a messy mush… there was no way I could concentrate enough to pull off something like that. For some reason, all I wanted was to sleep…

"We're losing her," I could feel Lance's breath on my face, his hands pressing in on around my wound. "She is getting delirious."

"Ughhh!" I heaved a yell, wanting nothing more than to fight him… to make him stop touching me!

"Kair! Get back with it! You need to teleport us. Then you can rest."

…And yet the way he looked down at me like that, a face awash with concern and worry. He was truly beautiful… My hand reached up and I grabbed him by the hair, forcing him into a kiss. And before I knew it, the world around us went white…


	12. Brothers and Sisters

**Brothers and Sisters**

The light blue smock was less than ideal… but when Lance and the kid had carried my sorry ass into the hospital the staff went right to work in attacking Lance's tunic I'd borrowed with a pair of scissors.

Apparently my teleportation worked, though I struggled to remember anything at all after the battle with the Masked Marauder. I could only be thankful that the one remaining healthy Pokémon Lance had also had wings. I don't know what it was but it was able to get us out of that forest and back to civilisation.

The surgeons spent an hour and a half carefully removing the wood from my side and sewing it all back up. By the time I'd come back around, I found myself back in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling.

I reluctantly pulled myself upright, taking in the bleary lighting and the smells of disinfectant distinctive of a hospital. I was alone in a private room, though from my standpoint I could clearly see Lance and a doctor I recognised from the PGM facility in Goldenrod. They spoke quietly and seriously, Lance nodding quietly to his every word. Ash sat in a seat a little further down the hallway, visibly bored as he obviously waited for his next of kin to come and fetch him.

Noticing that I was awake, the doctor talking to Lance immediately broke the conversation and hurried over to greet me and ask me of my wellbeing.

"Better," I admitted, "well somewhat anyway."

"That's good to hear," he went right to work in checking my vitals- eyes, throat, blood pressure and heartbeat.

"You'll be happy to know that your little brother is doing just fine too," he signalled to Ash down the hallway.

"He isn't my brother," I snorted before he shoved the popsicle stick down my throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake, I mean your half-brother."

I choked, spitting the stupid stick out of my mouth, staring at him like he was some sort of idiot.

"He isn't even my half-brother. My mother died giving birth to me."

The doctor nodded. "Well that's fine, because according to your genetic analysis, the relationship is paternal."

This time I didn't need a popsicle stick to choke on. My mind drew to a halt, the thoughts of my father and some other woman exploding in my brain.

"What?"

"Paternal, it means that-"

"I know what it means," I snapped.

I had a brother?

….

Ash was my brother?

Suddenly I was on my feet, dashing for the door when the woman appeared in the doorway and stopped me in my tracks. She stared me in the eye, a hand planted firmly on my chest.

"Don't," Delia's stare was wide and urgent. "Please."

"Delia," I hissed as she gently pushed me back over to my bed, casting a warning glance at the doctor who immediately found an excuse to leave.

She swallowed, going to mouth the words that didn't seem to want to come. "It's a long story."

"Well you better start talking. You had a child with my father?"

She nodded slowly, "Yes. It's true. But only we as a family know about this. No one else from Team Rocket knows."

"Why?" my mind was still stuck on her liaisons with my father but she mistakenly applied the question her family.

"Because I'm not ready for Ash to come to know of his heritage to the fullest degree. Please understand Aisha, in all retrospect, you are Giovanni's only heir. He has been so good so as to allow Ash to grow up and live his own life. I'm just not ready to face him with all of this yet."

There was genuineness in her voice, and I had to understand that thirteen years ago was still well after my mother's time.

"So Jessie and James?" I dared ask.

"Are just a ruse so that Giovanni can keep an eye on Ash. As you know, they're harmless, but blissfully ignorant of the true purpose of their mission," Delia smiled. "Jessie herself is another benefactor of the Team Rocket family arrangement. After she was orphaned when her mother, an elite member and good friend of your grandmother, Madame Boss made arrangements to ensure she eventually became absorbed into the organisation."

The news was hard to swallow but eventually I nodded. "It's alright; I won't tell Ash who I am."

"Thank you, Aisha. Your father is sending a car to come fetch you." She placed a change of clothes on the bed for me and I watched the woman get up and leave, greeting her son in the hallway with wide open arms.

I had to shake my head at the confusion and how much a tangled web of secrets Team Rocket really was. Was this my future? Was I destined to inherit one great big soap opera?

Pulling myself from the bed, I started to dress, careful so as not to pull my stiches.

A light knock on the door grabbed my attention and I spun to see Lance standing in the doorway.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

I forged a gentle smile. "I'll get back to you on that."

He smirked, inviting himself in and parked himself down on my bed. "It's been confirmed that you managed to absorb an ability from that Mew DNA. How long have you known this for?"

I gave him a shrug. "Not long."

"And your father knows?"

"Is there anything my father doesn't already know?" I paused, "apart from us that is."

Lance nodded, licking his lips. "The PGM managed to source out Archie's experiment in Honen and destroy it. What I need to know is whether Giovanni is looking into such experimentation?"

"I'm the only experiment in this little game," I confessed, clearly not impressed by the prospect. "Apparently with training, this ability can be developed."

"Like a Pokémon."

"Yes."

"A psychic type."

I chose not to say anything, spotting the suited man who had just entered the hallway - my father's driver.

"I have to go, Lance."

But he stopped me with the quick grab of my hand. "One more thing." He placed the pokéball in my palm and closed my hand over.

My eyes scrunched. "You're giving me back my Charizard?"

"I think you understand Pokémon more than the impression you give. He'll need some time for his wings to fully recover but he is fine."

"Thank you, Lance."

I pulled him into a careful hug, one that didn't speak of our relationship, and he took the moment to slip a note into my pocket and whisper in my ear, "Keep digging, Kair."


	13. Archives

**Archives **

The note contained nothing more than a filename. I had no idea what that meant, all I knew was that Lance had found something he wanted to me to see.

"Excuse me?"

Wendy, the resident Human Resources manager and local office bitch ignored the fact that I was standing there, choosing to consume herself in her insistent typing.

"Wendy?" I pushed.

Realising that I wasn't going away, she eventually gave in and acknowledged me, the glare on her face making it evident that she disliked interruptions.

"What?" she huffed.

I placed Lance's note down on her desk. "I want to know where I can find this file? I'm told it's a personnel number."

She typed the number into her computer. "Basement Three: Archives. That number has been terminated."

The matter was no longer her department, so, satisfied that her job was done, the green haired woman went back to her typing. I turned to take my leave when her holler beat me to the door.

"But with your pithy level one clearance, I'd be surprised if you make it past the first basement."

"Oh you let me worry about that Wendy," I threw her a sweet smile and slipped her security card into my pocket.

* * *

Archives was dark and dusty. The room, unlike what I was expecting, was nothing more than a tiny office with a desk and a computer.

Blowing the dust off the keyboard, I started up the system and waited in silence for the thing to load. The computer itself was years out of date. It asked me for my security clearance and I entered Wendy's details.

A Porygon greeted me on the desktop, stretching and heaving a weary yawn.

"How can I help you today?" its little message bubble popped up on the screen.

I typed in Lance's coordinates and it thought for a moment before suddenly a brilliant light blinked on, on the wall behind the desk. I glanced up only the notice that the wall was actually some sort of window looking out over a massive file room. Filing cabinets lined the floor as far as the eye could see and I realised this was the entire core of Team Rocket. Every dirty little secret and detail of the organisation was here.

"Wow," I slowly rose to my feet, watching the Porygon dissolve from the computer screen and then re-form in the huge file room. It drifted along in the air, scanning each cabinet in search of the file I was looking for. This took it several minutes.

Locating what it was looking for, it pulled a folder from the cabinet, scanning it before putting it away and headed back on over to its little port only to be sucked back into my computer.

"Here you go."

The folder popped up on the screen. As Wendy had mentioned, it was the personnel information of a now deceased scientist named Dr. Fuji.

He worked under the order of my father on a top secrete project only called; 'Operation Mewtwo.' It was an experiment to clone a replica of Mew from the DNA extracted from a fossil. The results were inconclusive, leading me to believe that it'd amounted in some sort of a disaster.

I frowned. Why did Lance want me to see this? My only option was to do what he said… to keep digging.

I traced the experiment back to Miyamoto's original expedition, before my father's reign. The expedition was financed by my grandmother but predominantly spearheaded by another figure whose name was blacked out.

This original, nameless person spoke of Mew containing the abilities of every type of Pokémon in its DNA. So the temptation to harvest such DNA to create the ultimate Pokémon seemed irresistible. But back then neither the technology nor Madame Boss's interest were sufficient enough. It would take my father stepping up to the plate and inheriting Team Rocket to get the ball rolling.

The operation to create Mewtwo went ahead but years later drew to a grinding halt after the lab was destroyed and the trail leading up to such a Pokémon went dead.

Did said Mewtwo actually exist?

It was all very confusing and I still failed to see how this applied to me. I flicked back through the influx of information, making sure I hadn't missed anything and came across a digital copy Miyamoto's journal. I made a quick scan through its pages.

The last things she spoke of were that it was too dangerous to send 'the sample'. That she would entrust it with someone and wait until Madame Boss sent an agent to retrieve it.

Instead, she chose to post her journal back to Team Rocket. The return address was not there but I already knew where it had come from. Peru.

I had to wonder if someone came for the sample before or after she passed away? Giovanni obviously got his hands on some form of Mew DNA….

But then my mind stopped… backtracking… my eyes narrowing. Lance had told me that Giovanni obtained the Mew DNA sample from an expedition in the jungle years after Miyamoto's time. The expedition's head scientists where actually working for him. Meaning that Miyamoto's sample was probably still out there… waiting to be fetched.

I closed down several windows and stumbled across a diagram that immediately caught my attention. It was of what looked to be a locket of sorts, only this one wasn't exactly run of the mill. It contained a special compartment in it that allowed for the safe storage of something organic. A tiny computer in the locket kept it sealed, leaving such a sample fresh and free from the erosion of time. It was the very locket that Jessie had received from the woman in Peru.

My mind went back to the occasion, and why the woman was so eager to give it to Jessie. Miyamoto must have known that eventually someone would come for it, even if happened to be her daughter.

Jessie had no idea that she had a Mew DNA sample in her locket!

The news was too good to be true. If my father got his hands on that sample, I knew there would be no stopping him from creating something. It was a dangerous venture… but ultimately, it would take his focus away from using me as the main subject of his experiments.

I saved the file and shot a message off to his computer.

I went to log off but an icon on the desktop quickly grabbed my attention. It was the coat of arms from the underground facility. I clicked it and it brought up an encrypted file that demanded a password to access.

I started playing around with my options, typing in things like 'Giovanni, Madame Boss and the names of several operations I'd heard of, but it was to no avail. It would not let me in.

I heaved a frustrated huff, sitting back and contemplating on things associated with the coat of arms. The three words I'd seen on the wall hanging soon popped into my mind. Passion, Power, Providence.

The file blinked open. A photo was the first thing that came up, one bearing the original coat of arms sitting on a stone wall above a fireplace. I knew that fire place… it was located back on the island I'd spent the first ten years of my life on. It belonged to my previous master, Sa'lu.

Behind the photo was a personnel file, though unlike the other files in this place, this one wasn't an official Team Rocket record. It was the name it bore that made me double-take. Aisha Valderez.

And right then I knew this belonged to my mother.

My mouse hovered over the folder, ever afraid to open it. The file was huge and probably contained all aspects of my mother's life… but did I want to know about it?

There was a reason why Giovanni never spoke of her.

But to walk away now would only kill me. I had to know.

I clicked the folder.

At first the information in it was pretty standard. It contained medical records, her blood type, the fact that she was this tall and suffered severely from panic attacks and depression.

A picture appeared and I found myself immediately taken aback by her beauty. My father was right, she was an angel. Large, brilliant eyes gazed over at an unknown person or object that resided outside of the picture. She sat on an expensive looking couch with a hand on a young Meowth. Long brown hair flowed out from behind her and her white dress made her looked almost ethereal.

I couldn't stop staring at her… I was completely mesmerized. This was my mother. Her features were strong; her face angular and a pointed window's peak on her brow that I recognised from my own mirror.

The room she sat in was familiar to me too. It was a sitting area in Sa'lu's castle that she reserved only for special guests. I had to figure that my parents were guests there at the time.

Moving along, the final thing I found was a journal that she'd kept. It hadn't even been scanned into the system, so when Porygon located it, it promptly slipped the hard copy into a slot and it landed lightly on the desk by my hand.

It seemed so surreal as I carefully turned pages covered in elegant handwriting. These were the thoughts and feelings of my own mother. The only problem… it was all written in a different language - the script of the Dragons to be precise. And there was only one person I knew who was able to read it.


	14. Bloodlines

**Bloodlines**

Because my Charizard was out of action, I had no other option but to break into my father's collection and borrow one of his flying types.

A Fearow sufficed, it was large, somewhat common and able to fly long distances.

Where I was headed was a journey several hours long so by the time we landed, evening had well and truly settled in. I landed on Lance's balcony and withdrew the exhausted Fearow. The headwind coming up the mountains had made his flight especially difficult.

As usual, Lance's door was unlocked, so I let myself in. He was sound asleep on his bed with a PGM mission report draped across his bare chest. Being home, the only clothing he ever bothered wearing was an old pair if track pants. I had to smirk as I crept into his room and gently took the file, putting it aside on his bedside table. Then getting up onto his bed, I decided to straddle him and he woke with a start.

"Oh, geeze, Kair!" Lance bellowed, clutching his chest and I laughed

"What are you doing here?" he smiled, clearly embarrassed by the fact that I'd managed to sneak up on him.

"I was just in the area."

For some reason he found that hard to believe… but he wasn't about to refute me, especially not while he found himself pinned to his bed. His hands started a journey of their own up my legs to my hips that straddled him at the waist.

"And you just thought you would drop by, huh?" his eyebrow rose and a cheeky glimmer formed in his eyes.

"Something like that," I leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the lips, enjoying the trail of his hands that now worked their way under my shirt…

* * *

"So you found it in the archives?" Lance watched me rummage about my rucksack. "Why do you need me to read it?"

"Because you're the only person I know who can understand what it says," I replied.

I found my mother's journal and carefully placed it down on the coffee table in front of Lance, before taking a seat beside him on the couch. I tugged at the tunic that I'd since borrowed. While it was longer than Lance's regular attire, it still barely managed to cover my thighs.

Lance lent over and grabbed the book, feeling the leather under his fingertips.

"How old is this thing?"

"Older than me," I answered.

He opened the journal, taking a moment to read its contents. His eyes scrunched as he concentrated and I could tell that it had been a while since he'd read Dragon Script.

"It's a letter," he said finally. "To the Dragon Clan. She speaks of this as being her final confession." His glance fell on me. "Did she do something?"

I shrugged honestly. "I don't know. I never met her. I never even realised that she could write in Dragon Script. I thought that kind of knowledge was reserved only for clan members such as yourself."

"It is," Lance frowned. "She's talking about your old master, Sa'lu." Then he stopped.

"What?"

But he kept reading, his eyes wide and focused. On his face was a look of stern deliberation as I watched things come to light before him.

"What does it say?"

He had to force himself away from the writings to answer me and gave a brief nod, as if to confirm something in his mind. He put the journal down.

"Kair, before I say what's in this book, there are things that I probably should tell you first. Things about your past." He licked his lips, suddenly taking an interest in the fire that rolled around in the fireplace. "The Dragon Clan consists of Dragon Trainers who also act as chosen companions for the Dragons, and it is only accessible through either bloodline or on the rare occasion when a certain Dragon deems someone worthy of such a responsibility.

As I am, Sa'lu too was just such a benefactor of the bloodline arrangement. Her family actually worked hand in hand with my family as elders in the council. Passing on the teachings of the clan and acting as sages and bridges between Human and Dragon.

Customarily, to become an elder both of your parents must be full blooded clan members, though there have been some exceptions to that rule. Sa'lu was such a person, as was her daughter, who upon her birth Sa'lu promised to give to my father as a wife when they came of age.

Sa'lu's daughter spent her first years growing up at the foot of the elders – the custom for every Dragonchild. All the while the desire for true mastery become more and more fertile in Sa'lu. She became a great Dragon Master, even spending several years residing in the Elite Four, as you know."

I nodded.

"What you don't know is that while common knowledge dictates that she retired, she was actually removed."

"Why?"

"It was her lust for power. It grew and she soon started to dabble in the Shadow Arts of Dragon Mastery, practices that have long been forbidden. So when they found out, she was immediately expelled from both the Elite Four and the Dragon Clan.

Sa'lu went underground, just slipped right off the radar until one night she came back and took her daughter from the temple, and after that no one ever saw her again."

"And that applies to me how?" I questioned.

Lance took in a breath. "I haven't been entirely honest with you. When I met you, I had this feeling I knew who you were. And then when I found out Sa'lu had trained you as a child… well this just confirms everything," he held up the journal. "Like you, you mother was named Aisha. She was Sa'lu's daughter."

I just stared at him dumbfounded, "What?"

"It's the only reason I can fathom that my Dragonite will listen to you."

My mind was still stuck on my mother being Sa'lu's daughter. Sa'lu… my old master… was my grandmother. And suddenly the picture I saw of my mother in Sa'lu's sitting room came to mind. That was why she was at the castle. Did Sa'lu train her too? Had she been like me?

"So you're saying I'm a half-blood Dragonchild?"

Lance nodded. "So that the bloodline doesn't draw thin, it is customary for members of the Dragon Clan to take on marriage alliances with people outside the clan. Any children of theirs would then be declared a blood member of the Dragon clan. But in return, those children would need to pair with someone within the clan for their offspring to be deemed accepted. As your mother mentions in her journal, it was Sa'lu's intention to start a special line of her own."

He started to read it aloud, and the secrets that were left hidden on those pages for years were suddenly revealed…

After Sa'lu's banishment, she wound up running in the same social circles as Madame Boss. They became close associates, even to the extent that when Madame Boss's son developed an interest in her daughter, she promptly handed her over and formed a marriage alliance.

Much to my surprise, my father was deeply in love with my mother, though she would always fear him and his growing power. Especially as he found himself drawn to the dark secretes that Sa'lu had to offer him. In Giovanni, Sa'lu saw everything she wanted in a legacy.

Then one day my mother stumbled on a joint plot between Giovanni and Sa'lu to have Madame Boss exterminated, so that he could inherit the business and take it to new heights. Sa'lu was planning on creating a special clan of her own, one that delved into the Shadow Arts of Dragon Mastery starting with the prodigy of Giovanni and her daughter.

But with my mother finding out, the plan was foiled. Sa'lu had been furious, ordering Giovanni to curb my mother's prying to which Giovanni complied, and became very possessive of her. He was very strict with her and eventually his will became too strong for her to handle.

She was crushed under his rule and fell into a deep depression, so there was little fight she could put up when she became pregnant. The pregnancy was so difficult for her, especially knowing what her child was destined for, that after seven months she tried to kill herself. That was the day of my birth, two months premature…

The rest was history. Giovanni would pay Sa'lu to train me. To mould me into something they both deemed worthy to carry on their little legacy.

I recalled in detail the day I turned ten when Sa'lu handed me back to Giovanni. She was disappointed in me. I wasn't yet what she wanted in a grandchild. I guess I'd always assumed that was because I was an inattentive student. But it ran so much deeper than that…

I must have paled because suddenly Lance was wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"So what now?" I asked, my voice small.

"Well the rest is up to you," said Lance. "This history is just a small piece of who you are. The rest you must work out for yourself."

* * *

I spent days thinking on these facts. I wondered if my father ever succeeded in killing off Madame Boss – his own mother. Or had she retired? I had to admit, I'd never met her before. And then there was Sa'lu. Did she really love my mother at all? Or was she just a pawn in the bigger picture? Was that all I was too?

Eventually, merely thinking on these things wasn't enough. I had to hear it from my father's mouth. And so I approached him in his office one day. He was on the phone, so I invited myself in and took up a chair in front of his desk, waiting for him to finish his conversation.

His Persian came trotting over for a pat as was custom and I gave it a good scratch behind the ears.

"What is it, Aisha?" Giovanni slammed the phone down.

Where was I going to start with this? I had no idea.

"Did you retrieve the Mew DNA from Jessie?" I asked.

"Yes. It was a whole paw, which was more than sufficient. The lab is working on extracting it as we speak. It seems that your little, unauthorised journey to archives paid off. But that's not why you're here is it."

As always, he suspected an ulterior motive behind my unexpected visit, and he wasn't far from the truth either.

"No, its not," I paused to gather my thoughts but then only wound up blurting it all out at once. "When I was down there I came across my mother's files and in them she had a journal."

"I know," he said bluntly. "The moment you started attempting to access that file, it alerted on my system. I allowed you to see it."

"Then you would know what my mother wrote in her journal."

My father scoffed. "That gibberish? She wrote in Dragon Script just so that I wouldn't be able to read it. I let it go, she needed one element of privacy in her life."

"I took it to someone who can read it, and they translated it for me. I know about the whole conspiracy. About you and Sa'lu and the Shadow Arts…"

"You don't know the half of it!" he cut me off mid-sentence. "Your mother was a sick woman. She witnessed things in her lifetime that no other woman should ever have to see. She came to me for protection."

"That's not what she wrote!" I argued, bursting to my feet and slamming my hands down on his desk.

My father was less than impressed. "Don't you patronise me! Contrary to your thoughts, I loved your mother very much. What I want to know is who you went to, to have that journal translated."

"That doesn't matter!" I spat.

"Then maybe you can explain to me why my Fearow ended up in the mountains beyond the Indigo Plateau the other night?" from his desk drawer he pulled out a GPS chart, mapping the very path I'd taken to Lance's and threw it onto his desk.

I sat back down very suddenly and he watched me, his expression growing dark, "What have I told you about seeing him again?"

"He is a Dragon Master. He understands the script. That's all I was there for," I lied.

"And as a result, he now knows things that he shouldn't."

"Lance can't do anything. He has no proof," I refuted.

My father's fingernails tapped on the desk, mulling things through before he leaned back in his seat, placing his head on the headrest.

"That Champion isn't all that he seems, Aisha."

I frowned, "How do you mean?"

"Lance isn't entirely the knight in shining armour that he makes himself to be. He has his secrets. Secrets that can strip him of his title. You won't know this because you were too young at the time, but when he was a teenager he dabbled greatly in these 'so called' Shadow Arts. So much so in fact, that he created something so sinister that it almost destroyed Cinnabar Island. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to expunge something like that from your record?"

I swallowed; this information was very new to me. "And let me guess, he came to you."

My father didn't need to say anything, his look said it all. "Every man has his price."


	15. Three Months Later

**Three Months Later**

_Giovanni snapped from his slumber as the phone blared to life suddenly. Pulling the sheets away, he took care so as not to disturb Delia and put on some trousers, deciding to take the call in his office. Having sleeping quarters at his office was a valuable asset to him on the occasions that he found himself staying back at work. He only ever needed a few hours of sleep anyway. _

_Glimpsing the clock that read 4:34am, he heaved a yawn and answered the phone. "What?"_

"_Giovanni, it's Sebastian. I'm pleased to inform you that the formula has been perfected. We are ready for phase two."_

"_Excellent," Giovanni replied with a hiss of approval. One good thing about his head scientist was that he too absorbed himself in his work, even to the extent that he was often unaware of the hour. "I'll be down in ten minutes."_

_Heading back into the bedchamber, Delia was already up and dressing herself. She gave him a sleepy greeting. "Is everything alright, Giovanni?"_

_Giovanni nodded, pulling a freshly pressed suit from his cupboard and lay it out on the bed. "Everything is going according to plan. You don't need to get up."_

_Delia gave him a half smirk as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "I have another life to get back to. The café will have a fit if I call in sick again. I'll probably lose my job."_

_Giovanni scoffed at this, "I highly doubt your own parents would actually fire you."_

"_You don't know my parents," Delia copied his scoff._

_Giovanni straightened. "Don't worry, I can make sure that doesn't happen."_

"_I don't doubt that, Giovanni," she gazed at him with an amused smile._

"_I'll have a helicopter take you back to Pallet."_

_

* * *

_

_Showered and dressed, Giovanni made his way down to his laboratory, located on the first basement floor of the Team Rocket headquarters. There, many scientists roamed about in a hurry to ensure the place was spotless and ready for his arrival. _

_Sebastian greeted him at the door with a snivelling sneer that Giovanni could only assume was his attempt at a smile. _

"_You have something for me?"_

_

* * *

_

It was barely 6am when my phone practically vibrated a hole in my bedside table. I chose to ignore it, letting it go to the message bank.

Then it rang again.

"What!" I finally heaved a yell and groped about my bedside table, flipping the stupid thing open only to be greeted by my father's scowl on the tiny screen.

"You know I severely dislike talking to automated voices. What are you doing?"

"What everyone else does at six in the morning," I growled.

"I want you on the gym floor in twenty minutes."

"Right," I said bluntly. "See you in half an hour."

I clicked the phone shut and threw it back on my bedside table, heaving a loud sigh. "It's too early for this crap."

"It's too early for what?" Lance yawned, blinking in the darkness of another rainy morning.

"Nothing," I flopped back down into the warmth of my bed. "Just work."

I felt Lance's hands tracing my body under the sheets as he drew me into him and kissed my neck. His latest assignment had brought him to Viridian, so we'd seen a great deal of each other in the past few days.

"Sounded important to me, what do you think Giovanni wants?"

I smiled, tracing the lines of his back as he pulled himself on top of me. "Whatever it is, it can wait."

* * *

"You're late," my father glowered, watching my entry through the double doors. "

"Sorry. I got tied up," I replied. "What's the emergency?"

My father seemed too consumed in something to question me further. He was already standing in the battle arena, cracking his knuckles and stretching the muscles in his neck. He took off his suit jacket and handed it to one of his men and signalled me to the sideline.

He released a Machoke from its pokéball and it stood ready for its first order of attack, though this time - much to the Pokémon's surprise - the challenger was Giovanni.

I watched on with utter amazement as the two proceeded to step into a slow circle of one another. My father had to be crazy! That thing would pulverise him with a single... PUNCH! TWHACK! Like lightning, the punch launched from the Machoke only to be caught safely in the hands of my father. He twisted the Machoke's arm and gave it a swift sideways kick in the side, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Immediately dazed, the Pokémon leapt to its feet, this time lashing back at him with a multiple low-kick attack, only to be brought to naught by Giovanni's defensive karate chops. Then POW! The single, focused punch hit the Machoke square in the chest, sending it flying out of the centre circle.

I could only stare… unable to truly fathom what had just happened. Had I really just seen this? The battle was short but definite, Machoke just got its butt kicked by Giovanni.

"The hell?" I yowled across the gym. "How did you do that?"

My father's only response was a satisfied smile as he carefully placed his suit jacket back on. He hadn't even broken out in a sweat.

He signalled to one of his men. "Fetch the car. My daughter and I are going for a drive."


	16. The Formula

**The Formula **

My father chose not to clue me in on the details until we'd made the thirty minute drive back to headquarters. Safely tucked away in a wooded area of a large property located on the outskirts of the city, unless you knew what you were looking for, it was difficult to find. Which in itself was unusual, as the structure - unlike the woods - was grey, square and several stories high. Huge, barbed fences surrounded the building that displayed a large red letter R at the front of it.

In a way, it reminded me of a military establishment – which in all retrospect, wasn't far from the truth. The thing was built to withstand anything… anything except a mysterious explosion that had levelled it some three years ago. The scars were still evident as rocks and debris lay scattered about the complex.

"Its probably time you dropped the level one act," he spoke to me for the first time since we'd left the gym. "I suppose in all rights, you're ready to take on the next step in Team Rocket. You've proven your loyalty."

Even if this car trip was all this morning amounted in, it was still worth it to hear that news.

"A position on the admin board just became available, if you prove that you're up to such a task then it's yours."

"Admin," my nose immediately scrunched. "I was hoping I could be placed in full time social ops. That's where my skills are."

"I agree, Aisha. But if you're going to some day take on this organisation, then you will need to know how it runs in all facets. Starting with the information that I am about to present to you now."

The car drew to a stop outside my father's private entry.

"Sir," the doorman let us out, standing in official salute and didn't move until we were well and truly in the building.

At the elevator, a man stood holding a tray which contained nothing more than a swipe card. This he presented to Giovanni who inspected it carefully before handing it to me.

"Your new clearance. Lose it and the cost for replacing it will come out of your salary."

He signalled for me to use it on the elevator. I swiped it across the scanner and it blinked, displaying my profile on the screen. "Welcome, Aisha," the female voice of a computer purred and the elevator door came open.

"Take the next elevator," Giovanni turned and ordered our company consisting of three grunts who acted as our ever vigilant bodyguards.

Then under my father's instruction, I requested the elevator to take us down to the first basement floor - the laboratory. We stood on in silence, restlessly watching the numbers that blinked backwards as the lift took us underground. I caught my father's gaze and turned. He was frowning at me.

"Are you wearing men's cologne?"

Inside my head I cursed. In my rush to get to the gym, I hadn't bothered showering. The cologne that still lingered on me actually belonged to Lance.

"I ran out of deodorant. I borrowed some from my neighbour," I lied.

"Tyson is away on assignment."

_Damn you! Why do you freaking have to know everything?_ I thought, but merely countered him with a smile. "Like I said, I borrowed some from my neighbour. When I get home, I'll break back into his apartment and return it."

The lift door couldn't have come open any sooner. And as we stepped out into the chaos that was my father's prized testing labs, we were immediately taken back by the wash of cold air. Someone had obviously turned the air conditioning down too low - that was going to jack up company costs.

"Someone turn up the air, this isn't supposed to be a freezer," my father thought the same thing, which took his mind off why I smelled like a Dragon Master.

People in white lab coats either rushed about in their activities or made themselves sparse. And while we stood and waited for our guard to come down the next elevator, a pale, shady character approached us with a grimace. Or was it a smile? I wasn't sure.

"It's good to see you again, and your daughter too, of course."

"The samples are ready?" Giovanni got right to the point.

"Oh yes. They are still here and awaiting the next line of testing." From the way he bounced about on his feet, I could tell he wanted to hear some sort of news from my father but almost feared to ask. He hovered like this for several seconds before he couldn't take it anymore. "And you? Have you experienced any… side effects yet?"

The smirk creased its way across Giovanni's face. "I'll let you be the judge of that."

The grunt standing closest to him didn't even stand a chance. Once minute he was minding his own business and the next he'd copped a gut full of his boss's fist that sent him flying across the lab and into a wall.

Everyone in the lab just stopped, eyes wide and jaws dropping. That was when it clicked in my head. He'd harvested an ability from the Mew DNA.

"I was intending to use the DNA to develop stronger Pokémon, but after seeing what happened to you, I thought the money would be better spent working on a way to develop it for Human subjects." My father guided me through the labs, speaking as we walked, "And with it, I had Sebastian extract the fighting ability for myself."

"We had to water it down a little bit and perfect the formula, so that the ability could be adequately suited for the Human metabolism," continued Dr. Sebastian, "and also so that your father would not suffer the same side effects as you, Aisha."

"When did you take it?" I asked.

"This morning," my father grinned. "And with every passing hour, my strength has increased.

I frowned, "but it took weeks for my ability to manifest in me."

"Ah yes," Sebastian filled. "That's because you took on the full dose of Mew DNA. With your father, we merely extracted an ability and tampered with it so that the Human body would be able to quicker absorb it."

He showed me to a bench which contained a line-up of test-tubes, each one holding liquids of different colours.

"These are the different abilities we've extracted thus far. We added colouring so we could tell one serum apart from the other. Everything is there from fire, poison, water, even right up to psychic, like yourself Aisha."

It all seemed so unbelievable. The idea of Humans taking on Pokémon abilities, it would surely bring to rise a new era in history… but what of the side effects? I wasn't sure.

A black goo sitting in a tube down the end of the line-up caught my attention and I pointed, "What ability is that one?"

"It's the Dark ability," stated the scientist. "The least known of all. And unfortunately, one of the lesser stable ones. It would need a very strong subject to take on this ability."

The Dark type… a psychic's Achilles heel. Also known as the type of chaos and disorder. Such Pokémon were rare and the only thing we knew about them thus far was their uncanny knack for warping realities. To a psychic Pokémon - whose special ability was to see into time and space - this was their worst nightmare.

Anyone taking on that ability would be able to easily defeat me in battle. I couldn't allow that. The thought alone must have made me sweat because suddenly the smell of Lance's cologne got that little bit stronger.

"And what are you going to do with these?" too consumed in the test-tubes, I turned and almost collided with one my father's agents, only to notice that our little band was already moving along.

My father directed me into a private meeting room before dismissing the rest of our gaggle and closing the door.

I took up a seat at the glass table, watching him pace about the front of the room.

"Word of what I am about to tell you goes out to no one. This is strictly top secrete. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"As you recently found out, Aisha, my dealings with Sa'lu go deeper than your education. I've already sent off a shipment of samples to your old master, who plans on refining these abilities further. Along with this shipment, she is requesting to take you back so that she can help you further develop your psychic ability."

"I'm going back into training?" I cringed. "But what about my assignments? My job?"

"It will only be for a couple of months. Right now you're running around like a scared little wild Pokémon. You have a hold of your powers, but you've got no idea of your potential. The world is changing. You need to be prepared."

While it seemed like a good idea, I was hesitant at going back, especially knowing now what my old master dealt in, as well as knowing what she'd done to my mother.

"And if I refuse?" I questioned.

"That's not an option, Aisha. Those are your orders. You depart in two days."


	17. Dark and Light

**Dark and Light**

It's a fact that Charizards very much dislike the rain. My Charizard only affirmed this as he flapped on through the downpour that proceeded to drench the both of us. And even as I sat perched on his back, I could still clearly hear the begrudging grumble that vibrated up through his chest.

"Shut up," I growled, not particularly impressed at being so soaked either. "If Feraligator had wings, I'd be flying him."

The thought of feeding him the flying type test tube did cross my mind…

Headquarters appeared through the trees. From up here I could barely make out the road that lead up to it and beyond, all the way to a large house that sat on the hillside. That was my father's private residence. No one was allowed there. I'd seen it once or twice, but even my admittance was strictly invitation only. I could only hope that this evening would be one of those rare occasions that he was actually there and not still at the office.

I checked the time on my phone which read just after midnight, time for the security shift changeover.

As was custom, I went to direct Charizard to the roof but then realised I would be better off to simply walk right in the front door. I did have the clearance after all.

Needless to say, the guy watching the door got the fright of his life when we landed only feet from where he stood.

I slid off Charizard's back and recalled him back to his pokéball, casting a glance at the doorman. "You going to open that or make me stand out in the rain all night?"

Working in a wet uniform was less than ideal. My plan? I was going to get back into my father's lab and destroy that Dark sample. The last thing I needed was someone running around with that kind of ability. But my first stop was HR- the uniform room to be precise.

The lights were all off in the admin block, which was a good sign, it meant that Giovanni was either at home or back at the gym. Either way, he wasn't here and that made for a much smoother operation for yours truly.

Fumbling around in the darkness, I found my way to the storeroom where the Team Rocket uniforms were kept. The one I went for wasn't designed for mere level one grunts however. Special ops agents received particular skin tight jumpsuits especially equipped to allow for plenty of movement.

Making the switch, I changed and emptied the pockets of my wet uniform before dumping it in the laundry basket. Because of the style of the suit, I didn't have pockets, meaning that I'd have to either clip my accessories to my belt or leave them in the office. I grabbed my pokéballs but decided it wise to leave my phone, it wasn't like anyone was going to call me at such an hour anyway. The last thing I went for was my swipe card only to find it wasn't there.

"Shit," I cursed. I must have left it back in my wet uniform.

But when I looked, it wasn't there either. To be safe, I toppled the entire laundry basket but still came up empty handed.

"Where is it?" I hissed, checking again, unable to believe that I could have left it at home.

But I was sure I'd left it in my pocket and it had been there since my father handed it to me. I'd left work late and never even bothered to change out of my uniform.

Well this was going to complicate things…

I checked Wendy's desk but she was the sort that took her gear home with her, leaving me with no other choice, I was going to have to break into my own father's lab.

My mind started to race through my options. Would I have to steal access from one of the night watchmen? Did anyone have clearance that high? Or was I going to have to do something drastic like scale the elevator shaft?

Then my brain clicked.

Why didn't I just teleport my way down? Granted, it did take the fun out of everything, but this particular night, all I wanted to do was get in and out as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I wondered how far my ability would allow me to go? To be honest, the idea of teleporting and finding myself trapped in a wall or worse did not appeal to me at all.

I closed my eyes, visualising the laboratory, focusing on nothing but that. I told my mind that was where I wanted to be and that I needed my body to take me there.

I felt my body reacting, disappearing into the place that resided above time and space. Again the chords that connected all things together were all around me, only this time I didn't pull them like with telekinesis. They grabbed a hold of me and pulled me, taking me along to the place I wanted to go. And within the blink of an eye, I was standing in a darkened lab.

I took in a steady breath, relieved at my own success. Teleporting was actually not one of my more difficult powers. It only involved moving me, not using this separate outer-verse to create energy like many other psychic attacks required. Humans like Sabrina the gym leader in Saffron City possessed these abilities. Mere mind tricks and little games - child's play when compared to something like the skills of an Alakazam.

Carefully treading in the darkness of the lab, I slowly made my way over to where I saw the line-up of samples. I switched on the desk lamp, but even then, the sample I was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

I frowned. This really wasn't my night for locating things. Where could it be?

I checked the samples again, only just noticing a used syringe sitting on the bench, and underneath it, my swipe card. The final drop of Dark ooze hung from the needle tip, and I knew right then that someone had used my clearance to gain that Dark ability! But who? I didn't need to think on that for long, the realisation hit me like a brick in the face. I let my head drop, cursing no one but myself. I'd just been played.

"I know you're here," I spun on my feet, talking to the blackness that was the remainder of the lab.

Movement caught my eye. He was leaning on the doorframe to one of the conference rooms. Watching me.

I threw the used syringe back onto the bench, casting him an angry glare. "You set this entire operation up, didn't you? You sent me on that search for the Mew paw, knowing that my father would delve into harvesting those powers."

He chose not to say anything.

"And now that you have what you want, you're going to destroy the remainder of Team Rocket's research."

"That's my mission objective," Lance confirmed. "Humans aren't meant to possess Pokémon abilities."

I scoffed at this. "Sounds a bit hypocritical coming from you, don't you think? How long has it been? When did you take the serum?"

"This afternoon, after I followed you and your father to the lab, I took the sample and I took your swipe card. I knew you would be back this evening to destroy it."

I was such an idiot. He had been there with me the entire time! "I didn't ask to have these abilities, Lance."

"I know," he said sullenly. "But now that you do, I know your father wants nothing more than to develop them. Having someone like you running around with that sort of power… it's just too dangerous."

"So is someone like you, Lance,"

He didn't deny it. "I need you to step aside, Kair. That research needs to be destroyed."

I stepped forward from the bench, meeting him in the lab's central workspace. "Then you're going to have to get through me first."

The Pokémon Master reached for the first ball on his belt but in a single hand motion, I used my telekinesis to send it flying away.

Lance's frown turned to a glare. "You know, either way Kair, I am still stronger than you. I don't want to hurt you."

Using my mind, I focused on random objects in the lab and hurled them at the Dragon Master. Pencils, notebooks, glass beakers. It didn't matter.

Lance quickly ducked for cover, pulling his cape over his head before suddenly he disappeared.

I stopped short, reeling on the spot… how did he do that? I didn't even get the chance to blink before he was suddenly in front of me, his palm going into my chest with the force of a Taurus. I staggered back into a wall, winded and dazed, giving him the chance he needed to make a dash for the sample desk.

I bolted on after him, skidding for the floor and kicking his legs out from beneath him.

He hit the ground beside me and I was instantly on my feet, the heel of my boot finding its way to his throat.

"I don't want to hurt you either, Lance."

He didn't think twice about it, he grabbed me by the ankle and twisted my foot, sending me tumbling into him where he tackled me back to the floor. He struggled to his feet but I took a hold of his cape, wrenching him back and using the momentum to get on my feet. He reeled, yanking his cape back behind his shoulders and sending me tumbling into him. Body hid body, and he grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me back into the wall.

"This isn't a game, Kair!" he bellowed.

"But the fun is just getting started," I leered in kind, stealing a kiss before kneeing him in the gut.

"Oof!" The Dragon Master keeled and I took the chance to slip from his grasp, bolting for the alarm. His faint attack beat me to and another sucker punch to the gut sent me reeling into a workstation.

Jars and lab equipment smashed all over the ground and there I was, lying on the desk, wheezing… concentrating on the storm that began to develop in my head.

Pulling myself upright, I called on the power that I knew was there, drawing it into one great bubble just as I had done when I was in battle with my father and the Masked Marauder. But instead of releasing it in one big wave, I focused it all into my hands where there I pushed it out of me in a single blast of psywave energy.

But what would have knocked a normal man right off his feet, did nothing more than pass right through him. Lance just stood there, unflinching… unmoving.

BOOM! The Psywave hit the wall behind him and immediately dispersed.

"Like I said," Lance stated. "I don't want to hurt you."

I straightened, only able to watch on as he started to draw in his own sort of energy… a dark energy that made distorted waves in the air around him. I didn't even stand a chance. In a single motion, he released it in the form of a dark pulse that rippled right through the lab. I couldn't escape it. I copped the pulse full force.

The world around me was suddenly spinning and things like logic, time and space became distorted. Dazed and confused I staggered, falling back into a wall before sliding down it. Thoughts… were rushing through my mind like a mighty hailstorm, my greatest fears coming to light… I wasn't in control anymore…

He was kneeling in front of me, hands touching my face. He kissed me and suddenly I felt the force of another kind pushing its way into my head space. But unlike the light and the energy that came with my ability, this one was dark and chaotic. Like a star gone supernova, a black hole formed in my mind, Lance's Dark Void attack sucking every little piece of my consciousness into it…


	18. Underbelly

**Author's Note: **I've just got to warn you, there is Mafia style violence in this chapter.

* * *

**Underbelly**

"Her pupils are dilated, though I can't find any traces of toxins."

I burst awake suddenly, heaving for air as though I'd been underwater.

The scientist who kneeled down beside me tumbled back onto his butt. "You're awake!"

I was on the floor, coughing and harking, willing my raging mind to stop and the effects of this darkness to go away.

"What happened, Aisha?" the low toned growl distinctive to my father vibrated through my eardrums. It wasn't a question of concern… it was a question that reluctantly held back the seething anger that would at any minute erupt on the nearest person who so much as looked at him sideways.

It meant only one thing… Lance had succeeded.

I took in a breath, forcing my mind to focus before finally exhaling what lingered of that darkness. It was only then that I allowed my eyes to concentrate on the mess that was my father's prized lab. Granted, much of it had been from the battle, but everything that had been on that counter – the research, the computer equipment, the samples and what remained of the Mew paw had been completely obliterated.

The pounding of a headache formed in my temples and it felt like I was suffering from the worst hangover in history. "It was Lance of the Pokémon G-Men" I cringed. "He took on the Dark ability. He did this."

I heard my father curse, which seemed so unusual coming from him. He helped me to my feet, watching me carefully as I clutched my screaming temples. And suddenly I pitied every psychic type Pokémon forced to go into battle with a Dark type.

"Here, take these," he had one of his men hand me painkillers and a glass of water.

"Giovanni," someone from the security department burst from the elevator. "We've managed to catch the intruder. He was attempting to escape the premises but one of the snipers on the roof got him.

My heart suddenly came to a screaming halt, "snipers?"

The security officer nodded. "Shot him in the shoulder. We're holding him in the foyer and we await your order, Giovanni."

My father said nothing, only allowing the slight smirk to escape his lips, he'd just found an outlet in which to release his pent up anger.

This wasn't good…

"Prepare the car. We'll meet him back at the gym."

* * *

I'd never seen the gym so bright before. Every light in the building was turned on and aimed at the battle arena. Agents lined the sidelines at attention and awaiting their orders. I stood with my father on the main floor just below his sitting platform.

The chill of the early morning rattled its way through my uniform. What time was it? 3 am? I had no idea. All I knew was that it was still dark out.

The front double doors came open and two security agents entered dragging one very sad looking Dragon Master.

My throat went immediately tight, especially as they threw him at Giovanni's feet. His face was raw and bruised and he clutched a bleeding shoulder where the sniper's shot had hit him.

The two agents stripped Lance of his pokéballs and handed them to their boss before taking their leave.

"Lance Drake," my father's voice was a sneer. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused to this organisation?"

"Not enough, obviously. Because its still here," Lance's snide remarks really didn't make his outlook any better.

Did he really have any idea what my father was capable of? He had the ability to make people disappear, no matter what their station in society. Even leaders bowed to him in fear.

I'd seen firsthand what he did to people who crossed him.

"It is time," said Giovanni as he handed me Lance's pokéballs and took off his suit jacket, throwing it aside, "to make sure you don't meddle in my affairs again."

He unclipped his gun holster from his chest and threw this and his gun aside before meticulously rolling up the sleeves to his expensive shirt.

I had to do something. He was going to kill him. "What about the police?" I said the first thing that popped into my head, but my voice was high pitched and desperate. I swallowed in attempt to calm the raging torrent of panic rising in me. Why did I have to care so much? "They'll investigate. With the League coming up in a few months, the gym can't afford that sort of publicity."

My father's look was not impressed, and I knew right then that he saw right through everything. He wasn't stupid.

"It seems that my daughter is concerned for your wellbeing, Lance," he watched the Dragon Master with a careful eye. "I get the impression that she has developed a soft spot for you, wouldn't you say?"

Lance's intense gaze turned into a shrill laugh, one that dripped with ridicule, "what infuriates you more Giovanni, the fact that I destroyed your little operation or the fact that I've been sleeping with your daughter?"

I watched every muscle in my father's body tense, fists and jaw clenching. He cast me a sideways glance, but the look on my face only confirmed Lance's statement. There was nothing I could do to stop him now. Lance had just signed his own death warrant.

I gripped the Pokéballs in my hands, having to look away as the Team Rocket Boss's fingers curled around a fist full of Lance's hair and dragged him all the way into the centre circle.

"I hear you have an ability of your own, Lance. Something along the lines of a Dark ability? Care to demonstrate it? And I'll show you a few little tricks of my own."

He allowed the Dragon Master to stagger to his feet, I could tell the pain in his shoulder was intense and severely hampered his concentration. He made his attempt at a faint attack but his movements were slow and sluggish and his contact with Giovanni did little more than cause him to step back.

WHOMPH! Lance didn't even see Giovanni's fist hit him in close combat that sent him tumbling backwards head over heels.

"Oof!" he hit the ground at my father's feet, wheezing and spitting up blood.

"Is that all you have?" now it was Giovanni's turn to laugh. "Surely you can do better than that, _Champion_," the title came out as a sneer.

Lance's left arm where the bullet had gone through was as good as useless. The sweat on his brow became a torrent, the look in his eyes turning to one that reflected his silent agony. I watched the energy waves that began to form around him as he called upon his Dark Pulse attack. But it just wouldn't amount, and my father was getting impatient.

"Its time to end this," he leered, lashing out a hand and grabbing Lance by the shoulder.

"Ahhhh!" Lance's yell sounded aloud across the gym, especially as Giovanni found the spot and dug his thumb into the wound.

I was going to be sick. I couldn't take this… but I couldn't move either. If I so much as twitched in attempt to intervene, I knew Giovanni's army of grunts were under strict orders to take me down.

I had no choice, just as my father intended it - I had to see it all. I had to watch as he forced the Dragon Master to his feet one final time. I had to watch as his fist came up into Lance's gut that sent him high into the air, an attack that formed into a Seismic Toss. I had to watch on as gravity took its place and dragged him the height of the gym's high ceiling and into the ground, knocking him out instantly.

I took in a staggered breath, suddenly realising that my face was wet with tears, unable to truly fathom what had just taken place here.

"Toss his body in the river."

Agents jumped on the Dragon Master, grabbing him and dragging him through the rear exit of the gym. Those who were left silently filed out through the double doors, knowing that if they spoke of this to anyone, the same punishment would surely apply to them.

We stood alone in the gym, my father with his back to me, wiping the blood off his hands with a towel. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't even be in the same room as him. I turned and stormed off, the sound of my heels echoing off the gym walls.


	19. Desperate Measures

**Desperate Measures**

The agents were already at the river when I got there. They wrapped and bound Lance's body in a garbage bag and then weighed it down by tying a large boulder to his ankles. Thunder rolled on in the distance as the rain pelted down on us, drenching everyone unlucky enough to be caught in it. I pressed my body up against a tree, making myself scarce as I watched them throw the bag over the side.

Their jobs done, the agents moved along, eager to get out of the rain.

I pressed my head up against the tree, there was nothing I could do to fight back the tears. There was a pain in my chest… an agony that gripped at my heart and forced me to drop to my knees.

This couldn't be it! Once again, my father had proven the hold he had over me.

I clutched Lance's Pokéballs into my chest. I had to be sure…I needed to reach Dragonite, but which ball was she in? If I released the wrong dragon – one that didn't know me - it would surely make short work of me in no time at all.

I concentrated my mind on the balls, calling for her. Begging her to come out; her master needed her.

The beam of red erupted from my hands and I released the ball, letting it drop to the ground at my feet. Dragonite formed in front of me, her wings stretching and her eyes blinking in the darkness. She searched the grounds for her master only to find it was just me there.

"Dragonite," I didn't give her a chance to react to the fact. "I need your help. Its Lance, he is in trouble… I didn't know who else I could turn to."

She watched me intently now, and that was when I heard it, the voice that echoed in my mind. _"Where is he, Dragonchild?"_

I was immediately taken aback, how was she able to talk to me like this? I didn't have the time to dwell on it.

"The river. They threw him into the river," I pointed.

The Dragon took to the sky and searched the water for her master. _"I see him but the currents are too strong! You must call on the Water Guardian."_

"Water Guardian?"

"_Gyardos!"_

I was on it, searching and calling for Gyrados before pitching its ball into the river.

The giant serpent formed in the water, its roar sounding aloud. Dragonite buzzed about over its head, showing it where their master was.

The brilliant red Gyrados obliged and dove into the river only to burst from the waters with Lance's body in its mouth. Dragonite grabbed him from its jaws flying him back over to where I stood and gently placed him on the ground.

"Lance!" I dropped to my knees, tearing the bag away from his face and body. The water hadn't gotten through yet, he wasn't wet.

I felt around his neck for a pulse. There was a heartbeat… weak but still auditable.

"Lance, don't go!" I pumped at his chest and heaved breath into his lungs.

But he wasn't responding…

"Don't!" my yell was one of pure desperation. I stopped the pumping and pressed my head on his forehead, digging into his mind… searching him for something… anything.

I saw pictures… static and random. Pictures of flying, dragons, battles… and then… something else. A memory from his mind played like an old television. He stood in a place with towering stone dragons. A woman entered through double doors, tall and lean.

"I request a gym battle," she spoke, her voice calm and collected. Lance was taken aback by her. He sensed in her an untamed spirit. An air about her seemed to emanate through the gym they stood in, like she belonged there but didn't yet know it.

I realised right then, that woman was me. This was a memory from the first time we'd met at the Blackthorn City Gym. I'd fought Clair that day which had resulted in a tie. Much to her alarm, I'd pitched my Charizard up against her Gyrados. But she found herself up for an intense battle as I'd used the tactic of playing on Gyrados' Dragon characteristics and ordered Charizard to use Dragon type moves against it. Making what was weak against the water type, strong.

That was when it hit me. "Dragonite!" I burst to my feet suddenly. "Stay here. I need to go and get something. Don't let him fade!"

I bolted from the scene, staggering onto the street and over to the nearest building which just so happened to be a Pokémart. Grabbing a bin, I hurled it at the window and smashed it into a million pieces.

REEOOREEEOOO! An alarm blared but ignoring it, I leaped into the store and tore through the shelves, desperately searching. I skidded to a halt in front of the TM cabinet just behind the main counter and used a stapler to smash the glass. There I filed my way through the countless TM cds, looking for the one I needed. New TMs were being developed all the time and this was like finding a needle in a haystack!

"Arhh!" I let out a frustrated growl, finally stumbling upon the one I was looking for and slammed it into a portable DVD player.

The player came on, immediately flashing the contents of the TM before me at high speed - my brain absorbing every element on the screen. And within the blink of an eye, I'd learnt a new attack.

I could hear sirens in the distance now. The police were on their way! I cursed, dashing for the broken window and quickly made my escape. I bolted back over to the park, my heart racing and my lungs screaming in my chest and skidded to a halt before Dragonite and Lance.

"Dragonite," I gasped through my panting. "I need you to do something for me. I have an ability that I can use to help him but first I need to be injured for it to work."

The Dragonite's look on me was one of confusion.

"I can't explain right now, just hit me. Give me a Wing Attack or a Dragon Claw or something… anything!"

"_I cannot attack a living being, not unless my master asks me to."_

"Not helping!" I growled at her. "What about self defence?"

I couldn't believe I was just about to do this. I started to draw in the force into my mind, the wave of energy starting to form that I directed into my hands… into a Psywave. This I released onto the Dragonite, sending her reeling for a tree.

"Hurrr!" she cried, dazed at the sudden and unexpected attack.

"Come on!" I yelled at her, taunting her. "Hit me you oversized salamander!"

I started to form another attack, but she burst to her feet, throwing me a defensive Wing Attack that sent me flying.

"Oof!" I hit the grass, my face landing in a puddle of mud. I coughed up a wheeze and pulled myself to my feet, going her again. She beat me off with a swift Dragon Claw and I tumbled backwards, feeling something in my ribcage crack and let out a loud bellow. "Again!"

"Hurrrrhh!" She was angry now, hissing at me, fangs beared. The antennas on her head sparking to life.

Her Thunderwave tore right through my body, its force only intensifying due to the fact that I was wet from the rain.

"Ahhhhh!" I screamed, feeling the full force of Lance's most powerful Pokémon. My body involuntarily jolted and twitched, the heat of electricity scorching me from the inside out.

The attack ceased and I hit the ground, unable to move. The stupid Dragon had paralysed me!

I forced myself to move, the pain of my joints locking up so intense that I could hardly bear it. I dragged myself over to Lance's fallen form, dropping to my knees and I placed my hands on his head. I concentrated on his mind, forcing my way in. As was to be expected, his Dark ability came up, struggling to block my advances and that was when I employed my latest move. A Psychic one called Miracle Eye. Suddenly I could see into the chaos, I could make something of this darkness that enveloped him. I focused my mind on two more things now… drawing in every last ounce of energy I had left in me, I urged my body into a Recover then using my Synchronise I attempted to force it into Lance. It was an insane move, one that I was sure no Pokémon had attempted before.

Would it work?

I went back to pumping his chest and blowing into his mouth. That was when I noticed his wounds were starting to close. Not heal completely, but at least start to. The bleeding in his shoulder began to subside and his heartbeat rose. I listened for his thoughts and a dialogue slowly began to form in his mind… an awareness… and then suddenly a darkness as his ability became stronger and the effects of the Miracle Eye began to wear thin. Eyes blinked open in the darkness and he partook of his first gasp of air.

"Lance!" I heaved a sigh of relief, stopping short of pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Kair?" he seemed dazed as he watched me, his head then turning to gaze up at his Dragonite who stood over the both of us.

He smiled, "man am I happy to see you two."

The expression on my face turned serious. "Lance, that was too close. We almost lost you."

He had to agree. His hand came up to my cheek but I pulled it away, pressing it back into his chest.

"I can't see you anymore, Lance. It's too dangerous. You need to get away from me and stay away."

"You can't let your father dictate your life, Kair," he fought.

"The next time my father tries to kill you Lance, he will succeed. I can't let there be a next time. I'm sorry."

I got to my feet, glimpsing Dragonite in the eye. "Take him to the hospital."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey all! Thanks for all of your awesome reviews :)! Now you didn't think I would actually KILL Lance now, eh eh eh ;)!

Anyways, this concludes Volume 3 but the good news is that the story still has PLENTY more to go! (including lots of twists and turns and more Marfia/Pokémon G-Men/Shadow Dragon Arts… and other stuff!)

Firstly though… we're taking a step back in time for Volume 4 which is simply called 'Beginnings'. It's based about 15 years before the events of Volume 3 and it's taking up Delia's point of view. (basically the story of how she came to be involved in Team Rocket and with Giovanni).

If Delia doesn't interest you, then fear not because in conjunction with that story, I've already started and posted several chapters of Volume 5: 'Shades of Gray' which is back in Kair's point of view and picks up two months after this story (Volume 3).

I very obviously have too much time on my hands! ;)!

Hope to see you all there!


End file.
